Inspired by a certain children’s classic about a “silly boy with no social graces” who becomes king of the Wild Things, snotty young Patricia decides to leave home in search of the princessdom she is sure that she deserves. Alighting at last in the Land of the Hippos, she’s offered the royal job by the rotund residents—only to discover that it’s not all wild rumpuses and cake for every meal. In fact, there are at least 230 princessly duties that come with the job, from cooking dinner for the hippos to getting them up with a rooster’s crow at five every morning. Ultimately Patricia rebels, is fired and finds herself much more appreciative of her old life when she gets back. After a later reading of The Giving Tree proves no more satisfying (she can’t figure out what it’s really about), she heads happily to bed. Illustrated with simple cartoons in yellow, purple and gray, this tongue-in-cheek mini-epic will have parents and younger fans of Proimos’ offbeat Johnny Mutton tales snickering. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3066-3
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2009
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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