An owl takes over a rooster’s role (well, mostly) in this rather ingenuous barnyard episode. Flabbergasted to find an owl roosting among them after a stormy night, most of the henhouse’s feathered residents want to drive the stranger away. Though one speckled hen takes him under her wing, teaching him to scratch and pick just like a rooster, he can’t quite get the hang of cock-a-doodling—until he really proves his worth by gobbling down a marauding, egg-eating rat. After that ,he manages a crow (see title) that’s good enough for his grateful new harem. Two high spots sandwich the big cartoon illustrations: an opening scene in which the small, weary owl gets an unconscious cuddle from the sleeping hens; and a final view of him strutting out in front of a line of hens and chicks, past an astounded farmer. Even younger children may be left wondering where the next generation of chicks will be coming from, but the speckled hen’s compassion and the owl’s willingness to work at finding ways to fit in without compromising his essential nature thematically anchor a warmly inclusive tale. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-56148-568-0
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Good Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2007
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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