Perfect for pre- or post-school lunch reading, this hilariously urbane collaboration offers a decidedly unappetizing dining experience: leading off with “sloths and slugs / Sautéed in oil with crunchy bugs,” finishing with “Bat-wing pudding, grub-chip ice, / Leech compote topped with lice,” and offering in between such delights as Roach Flambé, Pest-o Baguettes—and a former diner who has complained just a bit too vociferously to hulking Charles the Chef. Reflecting the text’s perfectly tuned mix of sophistication and silliness, the Zalbens place a cast of nonhuman diners and wait-staff made from torn paper and found materials against dim photos of an elegant old New Orleans eatery. It’s all just so grand, and readers who’ve enjoyed Stephanie Calmenson’s Dinner at the Panda Palace, illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott (1995), or the occasional Saturday Night at Hodge’s Café, by Tim Egan (1994), will be lining up for reservations. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-06-029227-X
Page Count: 40
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2004
Miranda’s book counts the monsters gathering at a birthday party, while a simple rhyming text keeps the tally and surveys the action: “Seven starved monsters are licking the dishes./Eight blow out candles and make birthday wishes.” The counting proceeds to ten, then by tens to fifty, then gradually returns to one, which makes the monster’s mother, a purple pin-headed octopus, very happy. The book is surprisingly effective due to Powell’s artwork; the color has texture and density, as if it were poured onto the page, but the real attention-getter is the singularity of every monster attendee. They are highly individual and, therefore, eminently countable. As the numbers start crawling upward, it is both fun and a challenge to try to recognize monsters who have appeared in previous pages, or to attempt to stay focused when counting the swirling or bunched creatures. The story has glints of humor, and in combination with the illustrations is a grand addition to the counting shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201835-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
In a snowbound Swiss village, Matti figures it’s a good day to make a gingerbread man. He and his mother mix a batch of gingerbread and tuck it in the oven, but Matti is too impatient to wait ten minutes without peeking. When he opens the door, out pops a gingerbread baby, taunting the familiar refrain, “Catch me if you can.” The brash imp races all over the village, teasing animals and tweaking the noses of the citizenry, until there is a fair crowd on his heels intent on giving him a drubbing. Always he remains just out of reach as he races over the winterscape, beautifully rendered with elegant countryside and architectural details by Brett. All the while, Matti is busy back home, building a gingerbread house to entice the nervy cookie to safe harbor. It works, too, and Matti is able to spirit the gingerbread baby away from the mob. The mischief-maker may be a brat, but the gingerbread cookie is also the agent of good cheer, and Brett allows that spirit to run free on these pages. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-399-23444-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
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