From the creator of endearing guinea pigs comes the second sweet book about mice heroines and cockroach villains. Employing the same story-within-a-story format readers will recognize from Aunt Isabel Tells A Good One (1992), Aunt Isabel spins a naptime yarn for Penelope; every time Aunt Isabel seems ready to come to a close, Penelope says, ``BUT,'' thereby forcing the tale in a new direction. The fairy-tale takeoff stars Lady Nell, a penniless princess who tries to reach her prince's castle in time for his birthday, stopping only to thwart a band of marauding cockroaches. The technique of constant interruption on the part of Penelope may mimic child listeners, but is not as effective as the device used in the first book, which threaded whats, whens, and whys into an already well-told story. Jaunty watercolor illustrations are replete with detail, from the matchbox mouse furnishings and pierced ears to the hidden thieves. The chatty style is lighthearted and the plot full of good-humored twists and turns, even if the pace occasionally lags. Children will anticipate the satisfying outcome and surely applaud the mouse heroine who chews bubble gum and hurls a mean cherry drop. Mice and princesses are a tried-and-true winning combination, and readers of the first book as well as fans of Angelina Ballerina will not be disappointed. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-525-45496-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1996
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
The can’t-miss subject of this Step into Reading series entry—a unicorn with a magic horn who also longs for wings—trumps its text, which is dry even by easy-reader standards. A boy unicorn, whose horn has healing powers, reveals his wish to a butterfly in a castle garden, a bluebird in the forest and a snowy white swan in a pond. Falling asleep at the edge of the sea, the unicorn is visited by a winged white mare. He heals her broken wing and she flies away. After sadly invoking his wish once more, he sees his reflection: “He had big white wings!” He flies off after the mare, because he “wanted to say, ‘Thank you.’ ” Perfectly suiting this confection, Silin-Palmer’s pictures teem with the mass market–fueled iconography of what little girls are (ostensibly) made of: rainbows, flowers, twinkly stars and, of course, manes down to there. (Easy reader. 4-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2006
ISBN: 0-375-83117-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
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