English madcap Arabel Jones and her cantankerous pet raven Mortimer (of Arabel's Raven and Arabel and Mortimer) in three further episodes: one energetically manic, one cliched and blah, one that has its ups and downs. The clear winner is "The Mystery of Mr. Jones's Disappearing Taxi"—wherein the taxi is stolen by sniffy under-librarian Mr. Grigg for nightly book-heists; fluttery Mrs. Jones misinterprets a kidnappers' ransom demand; Arabel and Mortimer find themselves marooned with the book-thief and the kidnappers and the rock-star kidnapee in an unoccupied housing tower. . . and all present make their escape (from building and flood) via hang glider. The yawner is the title story: Arabella's deaf, overpowering aunt comes to nurse Mrs. F., overturns the household, inadvertently packs Mortimer off (in a box labeled Mortimer's Cross) to a research station (at a place called Mortimer's Cross) where, true to form, he wreaks havoc and redeems himself. The story that has its moments, and some unusual color and detail, is "Mortimer's Portrait on Glass." The Joneses, caravaning in Ireland, rescue a local glassmanufacturer/lepidopterist from a bog. At his factory, Mortimer's perpetual "NEVERMORE"—in excitement, at the sight of his portrait in glass—shatters everything on the premises (except Mortimer's portrait). . . which leads Arabella to think of shattering the offshore iceberg with a laser beam (releasing the frozen dinosaur, which disappears in the original bog). This outlandish pile-up doesn't quite effervesce, and Mortimer's irresistibility has to be taken on faith throughout. Yet the blend of English whimsy and English farce does give the series a certain raffish character and verve.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1984
ISBN: 0563363851
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Harper & Row
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1984
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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 nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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