Nicki, of I Don't Live Here!, returns in another amusing examination of suburban minutia. Having absent-mindedly licked the inside of a rubber-tipped arrow, then pressed it on her face to see how long she could get it to stay there, Nicki now has several red blotches on her face that refuse to go away. So she hides out in her room, a decision that acquaints her with a moth for which she develops a great fondness, but which disrupts her human friendships. Her parents' annual leaf-raking party provides the denouement. Lured outside by the fun and by the proposal of her friend Jeffrey that they wear masks, she loses her embarrassment in enjoying the day and in the excitement when her father gets a fly stuck in his ear (a vividly described incident). In the end, her friends decide that they wouldn't mind having the same marks on their faces. Some adults may not be fond of either the arrow or the fly incident, but the events are true-to-life and depicted from a child's point of view in a wonderfully concrete manner. This has virtually no plot, but its atmosphere is convincing. Conrad respects the priorities of her readers; they will reward her by looking forward to more adventures about Nicki and her friends.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1987
ISBN: 0060213337
Page Count: 55
Publisher: Harper & Row
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1987
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The glowing friendship of Frog and Toad continues, with Frog as the wiser, supportive partner easing Toad through his small frustrations and uncertainties. Frog plays the sympathetic sounding board while Toad convinces himself to clean house today and take it easy tomorrow instead of the other way round; he encourages Toad through a fourth and finally successful try at kite flying despite the robins' ridicule; he scares himself and Toad with a shivery ghost story that might or might not have happened to him; and, less admirably perhaps, he shrinks Toad's too-big birthday hat with water while leading his friend to believe that Toad's own big thoughts have enlarged his head. Once more, Lobel leaves the two with their friendship reaffirmed, this time after Toad misinterprets his friend's desire to be alone for a while. As in Frog and Toad All Year (1976) the relationship has settled into a comfortable, conflict-free pattern; but the complementary pair continues to delight and vulnerable Toad to invite sympathetic recognition.
Pub Date: Oct. 3, 1979
ISBN: 081243417X
Page Count: -
Publisher: Harper & Row
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1979
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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