Momo’s sick of smooches. “It goes on everywhere, all over the place,” he observes. “Especially mommies kissing babies.” Disgusted, the little monkey mounts an anti-kissing campaign. But it doesn’t make much difference; as he parades through the jungle holding a sign that says “No More Kissing!,” an anteater, wild boar, and rhino all try to lay one on him. His family is even worse, greeting one another, saying goodnight, and bidding goodbye with one kiss after another. So when his baby brother arrives, Momo knows what to expect. What takes him by surprise is what happens when he tries to soothe baby’s cry. As Momo explains, “ . . . a weird thing happened, by mistake I think. I kissed him.” Rendered in a lush, tropical palette, Clark’s (Roman Myths, p. 644, etc.) illustrations are redolent with detail. The opening spread depicts a mystified Momo sitting in a tree as the toucans and snakes, ducks and lions, butterflies and flamingos below show their affection. Later, Momo stands on a stool and declares his edict to his extended family. On the next page, humorous vignettes show him recoiling and running away from their persistent embrace. A series of smaller sketches show him producing toys, making faces, and juggling bananas as the baby kicks and cries. But the final illustration shows Momo holding his baby brother while the mother monkeys behind him quietly cheer. Says Momo of the kiss: “It was lucky no one was looking.” A sweet story sure to resonate with preschooler’s and parents everywhere. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-385-74619-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-81175-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998
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