Mr. Murgatroyd the landlord "was small and shriveled and as bitter as medicine because of the mean, hard life he had led, and he talked to himself because of his loneliness," but even though he gleefully charges "too much" for his cobwebby rooms, he has no trouble renting them to "a little wispy woman with a wooden leg, a man who pushed his mermaid wife in a wheelbarrow, Mrs. Piper and her 20 children, and a black bear who plays the flute." Of course Mr. Murgatroyd grumbles when, once installed, Miss Wispy fills the place with plants, the children paint colorful jungle scenes on the walls, the bear plays duets with a brown bear violinist, and the mermaid's husband lures birds and butterflies to the house with crumbs and honey. However when the tenants all move out together in search of a more bracing and cheaper home, he finds the house so deserted that he hangs a "for rent free" sign on his door and hurries to catch up with them. Jenny Williams' cheerfully fanciful but minimally interesting pictures just barely fill the vacancies in Malay's unrenovated version of the greening of a grump.
Pub Date: April 1, 1974
ISBN: 053102590X
Page Count: 39
Publisher: Franklin Watts
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1974
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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