For those wondering exactly what “saving for a rainy day” means, Mitchell has a swell story that explains it all. Eb Overall lived in a shack above the town of Dry Gulch. It was Eb’s way to horde things: piles of lumber and barrels of nails, stacks of shingles and tarpaper—even the nuggets of gold he found prospecting, but he didn’t tell anyone about those. When his friends asked about all the stuff, Eb noted he was saving it for a rainy day. However, rain was in short supply in Dry Gulch, hence the name. Then one day, sure as the water cycle, came the deluge. The rain quickly became torrents in the once-dry streambeds—“gullywashers,” as they are known in the Southwest—and Dry Gulch got drenched and demolished. Those gullywashers had a gift though, all of Eb’s stashed goods, carried down on the flood and quickly put to good use rebuilding the town. Those gold nuggets, too, would make life a lot easier for the townsfolk. Moreover, Eb, generous to the end, gave it all to the citizens of Dry Gulch. He’d been saving it for a rainy day: “You never know what will happen.” Just so. Chartier’s grand, overstuffed art gives Eb the mythic dimension he deserves, yet best of all is knowing that packrats of the world may rejoice—Eb “You Never Know When It Will Come In Handy” Overall is your vindication, and his willingness to share his goods makes him a shining example. This would go nicely with George Ella Lyon’s Come a Tide (1990) (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2002
ISBN: 1-56397-123-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
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)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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