As in Naturi Thomas's Uh-oh! It's Mama's Birthday (p. 388), a boy's good intentions are at the center of this oft-used plot of a youth who sets off to buy a gift, only to purchase something for himself instead. Kenyon finds himself in a dilemma after spending the money for his grandmother's 90th birthday gift on a new baseball glove. Realizing his mistake, he thinks hard about giving Little Dolly something that does not cost money, and puts together a book of his grandmother's much vaunted stories (none of which are recounted here). In doing so, he becomes the next ``Keeper'' of tales, an honor usually reserved for women in the family. Learning from one's mistakes is the message; readers will have to overlook the fact that the baseball-loving Kenyon gains the coveted mitt for himself in the process. The acrylic illustrations are reminiscent of James Ransome's early work; some awkward perspectives detract from the mostly effective compositions, but one scene—an aerial view of Kenyon stretched out on the floor on his stomach, the marshmallow undersides of his sneakers exposed—is quite unique. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1997
ISBN: 1-880000-58-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1997
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy.
Robo-parents Diode and Lugnut present daughter Cathode with a new little brother—who requires, unfortunately, some assembly.
Arriving in pieces from some mechanistic version of Ikea, little Flange turns out to be a cute but complicated tyke who immediately falls apart…and then rockets uncontrollably about the room after an overconfident uncle tinkers with his basic design. As a squad of helpline techies and bevies of neighbors bearing sludge cake and like treats roll in, the cluttered and increasingly crowded scene deteriorates into madcap chaos—until at last Cath, with help from Roomba-like robodog Sprocket, stages an intervention by whisking the hapless new arrival off to a backyard workshop for a proper assembly and software update. “You’re such a good big sister!” warbles her frazzled mom. Wiesner’s robots display his characteristic clean lines and even hues but endearingly look like vaguely anthropomorphic piles of random jet-engine parts and old vacuum cleaners loosely connected by joints of armored cable. They roll hither and thither through neatly squared-off panels and pages in infectiously comical dismay. Even the end’s domestic tranquility lasts only until Cathode spots the little box buried in the bigger one’s packing material: “TWINS!” (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 52% of actual size.)
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-544-98731-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
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