A free-wheeling tale about the first monkey in space who returns home a hero and turns his fame into industry. He manufactures strange little objects that are so popular that he plans to put the millionth one in a museum. A miscalculation puts the millionth in the path of a homeless bug named Penelope; she can't lift it, but a helpful man named Quincy takes it home and accidently aims the television remote control at it. It opens to reveal a room just the right size for Penelope. The monkey, in the meantime, discovers his mistake and goes in search of the millionth little object. There's a happy ending, the setting is postindustrial, the characters are outlandish, and Penelope is just lovely. The plot unfolds in computer-generated illustrations (the same medium Seibold used in Mr. Lunch Borrows a Canoe, 1994, not reviewed, etc.) that are completely wacky. They never stray too far from the red/yellow/brown part of the color spectrum, showing figures, faces, and postures that are screwball and upbeat. The compositions are chaotically cluttered with words, signs, and diagrams—and no shortage of visual jokes. Flawless three-dimensional shading has been harnessed to a perspective that looks as if it has been turned inside out and on its head. This may sound unreadable, but it's not; the presentation is crisp and clear, and the result is unbridled fun. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-670-86393-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1995
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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