Two mischievous pigs, a timid baby-sitter, and an iguana on the loose make for merry mayhem in this lively tale. Geraldine conspires with her younger sibling Willy to oust their new baby-sitter, the bespectacled Mrs. Duffy. Clad in a suitably mousy-gray sweater, she seems easy pickings to the troublesome duo. Readers will gleefully recognize the subversive tactics employed by the pair: tears, tantrums, hiding in a closet, and a staunch refusal to bathe. However, this classic repertoire of antics leaves their sitter unruffled. Undeterred, Geraldine hatches a plan that involves Jerome, their pet iguana. At first, success seems imminent as Mrs. Duffy (who likes to talk in triplicate) gives a satisfyingly alarmed response (“Oh, dear, dear, dear!”) to the sight of Jerome splashing in the tub along with Geraldine and Willy. Things quickly take a downturn as Jerome makes his escape. Here’s where the indomitable Mrs. Duffy shines: scaling tables to rescue the fugitive lizard from its perch atop the bookcase, earning the respect and admiration of the children (and readers). Keller’s (Jacob’s Tree, 1999, etc.) cheeky, colorful drawings are an impish counterpart to the comical tale. Vibrant watercolors depicting the dripping-wet siblings rushing after Jerome wearing nothing but their birthday suits are hilarious, as are the many illustrations that slyly incorporate the elusive Jerome into the pictures. This is sure to strike a responsive chord in readers and their weary baby-sitters alike. As Mrs. Duffy would say, “Yes, yes, yes.” (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2000
ISBN: 0-688-16887-6
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2000
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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
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