All of the other turkeys on Felicia Ferguson’s farm have disappeared, and Thanksgiving being just around the corner, it’s time for chubby Thelonius to fret—especially considering the way Felicia keeps feeding him and plucking his tail feathers. Casting about for ways to fight back, Thelonius waddles into action, enlisting the help of farmyard allies to subject Felicia to a week of milky showers, pigs in her bed and other pranks. Then on the last day, Felicia plunks him into the pickup, promising to show him “the new block in town.” New butcher’s block, Thelonius thinks glumly—but no, it’s a hat factory, where his feathers adorn chapeaus being sent to all corners of the globe. “I’ll be stuffed!” he exclaims, “I’m a hat entrepreneur. A fashion phenom!” Reed places flat, Maira Kalman–style painted figures, along with swatches of cloth, photos of small objects, scattered lines of text and drifts of gaily colored feathers against single color backgrounds for loud, whimsical illustrations that suit this holiday tale perfectly. And what better lagniappe than a pair of sugary recipes at the end? (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2005
ISBN: 0-375-83126-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-81175-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998
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