Where can a traveler find a giant donut, a witch’s house and a space station that serves French fries? Nana tells her grandson she grew up in “Dream Town,” where these marvels actually existed, but he doesn’t believe her. Readers are then taken on a time-travel journey to this 1950s fairy-tale world with the young Nana: “I could turn the corner and find an ocean liner, / or a fortress guarded by Assyrian soldiers, / or buildings with fish fins sticking out of them.” In the end, the boy discovers that these attractions (in some form at least) do or did exist—in Los Angeles. A two-page photo section documents the historic landmarks (though the correlation of fantasy to actual building isn’t always clear), and an author’s note explains the evolution of madcap monuments in general, from the circular Capitol Records building (“a stack of records high as the sky”) to the Spadena House (the “witches’ house”). Adults nostalgic for the magic of old Los Angeles may be the biggest fans of this whimsical ride down memory lane. (Picture book. 7-10)
Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 1-59714-022-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Heyday
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2006
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
McDonald’s irrepressible third-grader (Judy Moody Gets Famous, 2001, etc.) takes a few false steps before hitting full stride. This time, not only has her genius little brother Stink submitted a competing entry in the Crazy Strips Band-Aid design contest, but in the wake of her science teacher’s heads-up about rainforest destruction and endangered animals, she sees every member of her family using rainforest products. It’s all more than enough to put her in a Mood, which gets her in trouble at home for letting Stink’s pet toad, Toady, go free, and at school for surreptitiously collecting all the pencils (made from rainforest cedar) in class. And to top it off, Stink’s Crazy Strips entry wins a prize, while she gets . . . a certificate. Chronicled amusingly in Reynolds’s frequent ink-and-tea drawings, Judy goes from pillar to post—but she justifies the pencil caper convincingly enough to spark a bottle drive that nets her and her classmates not only a hundred seedling trees for Costa Rica, but the coveted school Giraffe Award (given to those who stick their necks out), along with T-shirts and ice cream coupons. Judy’s growing corps of fans will crow “Rare!” right along with her. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-7636-1446-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2002
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