bookshelf

IMAGINARY MENAGERIE

Name: IMAGINARY MENAGERIE
Author: Layne Longfellow
ISBN: 0-8118-0797-5

by Layne Longfellow & illustrated by Woodleigh Marx Hubbard ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1997

bookshelf

Longfellow's confection is a busy child's delight: The creatures in the imaginary menagerie are slowly revealed, first in peeks through square die-cut holes, then in full-page portraits, and finally in fold-out spreads that deliver the punch lines. The text is set in simple rhyme of couplets that turn on word repetition: ``If I had a . . . cat/We'd wear a hat, hat, hat'' The mood is loopy and comfortably eccentric; readers will join in hiding spiders, jogging with dogs, reading with centipedes, conveying the mail with a snail. Fun can be had on a number of levels here—a couple of guessing games, at the identity of each creature, at the choice of rhyme (there are clues). Hubbard's companionable illustrations use a bold, flat, richly patterned gouache; these swirl with color and use inventive creatures in impressive positions, e.g., a giraffe rolling on the floor with laughter. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1997

ISBN: 0-8118-0797-5

Page Count: 44

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1997

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

bookshelf

A DOG NAMED SAM

by Janice Boland & illustrated by G. Brian Karas ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1996

bookshelf

A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 1, 1996

ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

bookshelf

HOME

by Carson Ellis ; illustrated by Carson Ellis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 24, 2015

Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.

bookshelf

Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”

Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.

Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)