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MENDEL'S LADDER

Name: MENDEL'S LADDER
Author: Mark Karlins
ISBN: 0-671-89726-8

by Mark Karlins & illustrated by Elaine Greenstein ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1995

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Though it often reads with the warm familiarity of a tale by a yarn-spinning grandparent, this overlong picture book by the author of Salmon Moon (not reviewed) fails to connect. During the long, dry summer in Flatbush (yeah, Brooklyn), Mendel decides to take action. He builds a ladder to the clouds in search of the Rainmaker. The Rainmaker is named Maxwell Butterbarrel, who sits in an overstuffed chair, drinks tea, reads the paper, and feels unappreciated. With the encouragement of a little sesame seed candy from Mendel's father (who, with Mendel's mother, climbed up to keep an eye on their only child), Max passes out some sparkler wheels, they all make lightning, and it rains. The art is the real star here; Greenstein's pastel-colored monoprints vibrate with childlike immediacy and primitive vitality. Despite the folklore echoes, the attenuated story ultimately overwhelms the pictures and few will be able to hang in for that inevitable happy ending. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: May 1, 1995

ISBN: 0-671-89726-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1995

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
KIYOSHI'S WALK
by Mark Karlins ; illustrated by Nicole Wong

- BOOK REVIEW
STARRING LORENZO, AND EINSTEIN TOO
by Mark Karlins and illustrated by Sandy Nichols

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WHERE ARE YOUR SHOES, MR. BROWN?

by Justin Rhodes ; illustrated by Heather Dickinson ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 14, 2023

Pedestrian.

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Mr. Brown can’t help with farm chores because his shoes are missing—a common occurrence in his household and likely in many readers’ as well.

Children will be delighted that the titular Mr. Brown is in fact a child. After Mr. Brown looks in his closet and sorts through his other family members’ shoes with no luck, his father and his siblings help him search the farm. Eventually—after colorful pages that enable readers to spot footwear hiding—the family gives up on their hunt, and Mr. Brown asks to be carried around for the chores. He rides on his father’s shoulders as Papa gets his work done, as seen on a double-page spread of vignettes. The resolution is more of a lesson for the adult readers than for children, a saccharine moment where father and son express their joy that the missing shoes gave them the opportunity for togetherness—with advice for other parents to appreciate those fleeting moments themselves. Though the art is bright and cheerful, taking advantage of the setting, it occasionally is misaligned with the text (for example, the text states that Mr. Brown is wearing his favorite green shirt while the illustration is of a shirt with wide stripes of white and teal blue, which could confuse readers at the point where they’re trying to figure out which family member is Mr. Brown). The family is light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Pedestrian. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: March 14, 2023

ISBN: 978-1-5460-0389-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: WorthyKids/Ideals

Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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BUNNY MONEY

From the Max & Ruby series

by Rosemary Wells & illustrated by Rosemary Wells ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1997

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In the siblings' latest adventure, their grandmother is having a birthday (again! see Bunny Cakes, p. 67), so Ruby takes Max shopping. A music box with skating ballerinas is Ruby's idea of the perfect present; Max favors a set of plastic vampire teeth. Ruby's $15 goes fast, and somehow, most of it is spent on Max. The music box of Ruby's dreams costs $100, so she settles for musical earrings instead. There isn't even a dollar left for the bus, so Max digs out his lucky quarter and phones Grandma, who drives them home—happily wearing her new earrings and vampire teeth. As ever, Wells's sympathies are with the underdog: Max, in one-word sentences, out-maneuvers his officious sister once again. Most six- year-olds will be able to do the mental subtraction necessary to keep track of Ruby's money, and Wells helps by illustrating the wallet and its dwindling contents at the bottom of each page where a transaction occurs. Younger children may need to follow the author's suggestion and have an adult photocopy the ``bunny money'' on the endpapers, so they can count it out. Either way, the book is a great adjunct to primary-grade math lessons. (Picture book. 4-7)