A sweetly anthropomorphic Rhino family learns to appreciate their child’s unique interests through surprising support from an unexpected source. Bud Sweet-William is a mystery to his staid parents. They are “proper, sensible” and preternaturally neat. Bud has adored dirt since he was a toddler. While they prefer tidy silk flower arrangements and counsel Bud to color inside the lines, the ebullient Bud likes to “cut loose” when he paints. He is happiest digging, composting, and growing a backyard garden and reveling in the growing jungle of indoor plants that are rapidly over-running his room. Carefully cultivated family equilibrium is soon threatened by a visit from Bud’s paternal grandfather—a neatnick of the first order. How to keep Grandfather away from and unaware of Bud’s gardening? Upon arrival, Grandfather takes charge. He gives the house a thorough cleaning and reorganizing (even the canned goods in alphabetical order). A violent overnight thunderstorm wreaks havoc in Bud’s garden. When grandfather and grandson survey the remains the next morning, Bud learns that far from being dismayed, Grandfather is instead impressed with the garden and organizes its cleanup. Author-illustrator O’Malley’s (Leo Cockroach . . . Toy Tester, not reviewed, etc.) well-sized, sweet-natured, cartoony watercolors are full of the right kid pleasing details that add to the low-key fun. A delightful springboard for budding gardeners and an opportunity to share their enthusiasm with family and friends. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-8027-8718-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
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
This multigenerational snuggle will encourage the sharing of old memories and the creation of new ones.
Hill and Bobbiesi send a humungous hug from grandmothers to their granddaughters everywhere.
Delicate cartoon art adds details to the rhyming text showing multigenerational commonalities. “You and I are alike in such wonderful ways. / You will see more and more as you grow” (as grandmother and granddaughter enjoy the backyard together); “I wobbled uncertainly just as you did / whenever I tried something new” (as a toddler takes first steps); “And if a bad dream woke me up in the night, / I snuggled up with my lovey too” (grandmother kisses granddaughter, who clutches a plush narwhal). Grandmother-granddaughter pairs share everyday joys like eating ice cream, dancing “in the rain,” and making “up silly games.” Although some activities skew stereotypically feminine (baking, yoga), a grandmother helps with a quintessential volcano experiment (this pair presents black, adding valuable STEM representation), another cheers on a young wheelchair athlete (both present Asian), and a third, wearing a hijab, accompanies her brown-skinned granddaughter on a peace march, as it is “important to speak out for what you believe.” The message of unconditional love is clear throughout: “When you need me, I’ll be there to listen and care. / There is nothing that keeps us apart.” The finished book will include “stationery…for a special letter from Grandma to you!”
This multigenerational snuggle will encourage the sharing of old memories and the creation of new ones. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-0623-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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