Coyote in Manhattan = insurrection in Harlem, consternation on Fifth Avenue and headaches for the Board of Health. Dark-skinned daydreamer and "high school freshman-to-be" Tenny Harkness releases him as her "beautiful deed," hoping also to gain entrance to the tightly organized teenage "Street Family." (Rather than appreciating the beauty of the deed, they admire her bravado—but that comes later.) She is immediately suspected by Health Inspector Cardy Evans, who's been warned of the arrival of a germ-carrying coyote, but she doesn't squeal. Tako, the coyote, isn't quite as discreet though he has a preternatural sense of who's on his side and a positive genius for urinanlysis (a waste basket smell is "a message from a pampered and neurotic dog," another sample says the poorch is irritated with its owner). Surveying Central Park (map provided), he is seen (in the formal garden) and heard (howling at a Philharmonic Concert); the searchers close in but Tako has friends besides Tenny: he's the underdog's underdog. He is not, however, an acceptable consort for a champion shepherd and her irate owner Frederick Wortman ("destined to inherit a chain of national hardware stores") points the pursuers toward Tako's den. A last-minute carlift by Tenny and Puerto Rican pal Jose (who gives up a chance to "get away from 109th Street and all the poverty") takes him to the Adirondacks and a new lease on life—a fittingly unlikely ending to a preposterous story.
Pub Date: March 15, 1968
ISBN: 0690219695
Page Count: -
Publisher: T.Y. Crowell
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1968
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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