From the creators of The Loyal Cat (1995), a mild cautionary tale with a traditional Japanese setting. Young Jiro's bad habit of putting into his mouth any old thing that looks interesting comes home to roost when he swallows a "purple blob" that turns out to be the Hunger Monster. Suddenly, he's very, very hungry—to the point where not even a net, a bucket of fish guts, his quilt, a pillow, a doctor's box of medicine, or a priest's beads are safe. What's his family to do? Using strong, dark lines of cut paper and subtly modulated colors, Sogabe offers uncrowded, sharply detailed scenes of a chubby-cheeked lad cheerfully stuffing his face as worried or dismayed adults look on. Jiro's brother Taro provides the solution at last; tying Jiro to a nearby post, the family lays out a feast, then invites a puppet master to bring one of his beautiful creations to "enjoy" it. Unbearably tempted, the Hunger Monster leaps from Jiro's mouth to the puppet's—and falls through to the ground. Other renditions of the "Fat Cat" story, such as Ginsburg's Clay Boy (1997) or Hardendorf's Slip, Slop, Gobble (1970) can be frightening to younger children; here the monster, seen at last on the final page, is decidedly unthreatening. Yummy. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: March 15, 2001
ISBN: 0-8234-1542-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2001
In his third beginning reader about Otto the robot, Milgrim (See Otto, 2002, etc.) introduces another new friend for Otto, a little mouse named Pip. The simple plot involves a large balloon that Otto kindly shares with Pip after the mouse has a rather funny pointing attack. (Pip seems to be in that I-point-and-I-want-it phase common with one-year-olds.) The big purple balloon is large enough to carry Pip up and away over the clouds, until Pip runs into Zee the bee. (“Oops, there goes Pip.”) Otto flies a plane up to rescue Pip (“Hurry, Otto, Hurry”), but they crash (and splash) in front of some hippos with another big balloon, and the story ends as it begins, with a droll “See Pip point.” Milgrim again succeeds in the difficult challenge of creating a real, funny story with just a few simple words. His illustrations utilize lots of motion and basic geometric shapes with heavy black outlines, all against pastel backgrounds with text set in an extra-large typeface. Emergent readers will like the humor in little Pip’s pointed requests, and more engaging adventures for Otto and Pip will be welcome additions to the limited selection of funny stories for children just beginning to read. (Easy reader. 5-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-689-85116-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2003
Floyd and Denise update “The Tortoise and the Hare” for primary readers, captioning each soft-focus, semi-rural scene with a short, simple sentence or two. Rabbit proposes running to school, while his friend Turtle takes the bus: no contest at first, as the bus makes stop after deliberate stop, but because Rabbit pauses at a pushcart for a snack, a fresh-looking Turtle greets his panting, disheveled friend on the school steps. There is no explicit moral, but children will get the point—and go on to enjoy Margery Cuyler’s longer and wilder Road Signs: A Harey Race with a Tortoise (p. 957). (Easy reader. 5-7)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-15-202679-7
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2000
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
