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PARIS CAT

Name: PARIS CAT
Author: Leslie Baker
ISBN: 0-316-07309-1

by Leslie Baker ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1999

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Soft, splashy watercolors with that medium’s traditional luminosity limn the streets, markets, parks, and boulevards of Paris, as a calico cat, Alice, searches for her owner, Annie, who is visiting a great-aunt, Isabella. Alice sees a mouse in Great-Auntie Isabella’s garden on the first day of her first trip to Paris, and races after it; soon, she is lost in the city. Alice strolls the market, loses a stray fish to a tomcat, is chased by one of the city’s innumerable dogs and lands on a bateau-mouche when she falls off a bridge (a wordless spread of the fall is realistically and kinetically rendered). Tired, Alice at last falls asleep in a bed of tulips, to be found by Annie and her aunt. The Louvre and Notre Dame form a pleasant backdrop to Baker’s close observations of feline behavior. Annie, in her navy knee socks and beret, is just as appealing as her troublesome pet. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-316-07309-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
THE ANIMAL ABC
by Leslie Baker & illustrated by Leslie Baker

- BOOK REVIEW
CATS OF MYTH
by Gerald Hausman & Loretta Hausman & illustrated by Leslie Baker

- BOOK REVIEW
RABBIT AND THE MOON
by Douglas Wood & illustrated by Leslie Baker

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QUACK AND COUNT

by Keith Baker & illustrated by Keith Baker ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1999

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Baker (Big Fat Hen, 1994, etc.) engages in more number play, posing ducklings in every combination of groups, e.g., “Splashing as they leap and dive/7 ducklings, 2 plus 5.” Using a great array of streaked and dappled papers, Baker creates a series of leafy collage scenes for the noisy, exuberant ducklings to fill, tucking in an occasional ladybug or other small creature for sharp-eyed pre-readers to spot. Children will regretfully wave goodbye as the ducks fly off in neat formation at the end of this brief, painless introduction to several basic math concepts. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-15-292858-8

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
LMNO PEA-QUEL
by Keith Baker ; illustrated by Keith Baker

- BOOK REVIEW
HAP-PEA ALL YEAR
by Keith Baker ; illustrated by Keith Baker

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE GREEN PEAS
by Keith Baker ; illustrated by Keith Baker

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BIG BROWN BEAR

by David McPhail & illustrated by David McPhail ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1999

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Big Brown Bear, with a natty bowler hat, is all set to paint the house in this cheerful Level 1 reader. Every page presents a full-color scene and a few words of easily predicted, often rhyming text: “Bear is big. Bear is brown. Bear goes up. He comes down.” Big Bear climbs a ladder with a pail of blue paint, while nearby, Little Bear plays with a ball and bat—“Oh no! Little Bear! Do not do that!” These are simple words, but sometimes challenging ones, e.g., there are two uses of up, as in climbing the ladder and washing up. The pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations provide nearly ideal context, while also amplifying the story. The format is attractive and practical, featuring large type on a white background that is placed for easy reading. Beginning readers will be amused by the gentle humor in the book, and feel accomplished to have tackled it themselves. (Picture book. 5-7)