Little Rat’s parents have signed her up for sailing lessons, but she doesn’t want to learn to sail; in fact, she doesn’t even want to get wet. She perseveres through a whole summer of sailing lessons in this beginning chapter book, a first effort from Bang-Campbell (who is an accomplished sailor herself), with illustrations provided by her mother, Caldecott Honor artist Bang (Tiger’s Fall, 2001, etc.). Little Rat is joined in sailing class by a menagerie of assorted animals, including a raccoon that is even more timid and nervous, providing Little Rat an opportunity to help someone else. Lots of sailing terms are introduced, with some terms defined within the text, some through one labeled illustration, and a few just thrown out and never defined (e.g., the unexplained use of the word lines for ropes, which will confuse anyone who hasn’t sailed before, especially first graders who draw lines and get in lines for recess). But never mind, Little Rat is a brave little sailor with her own shy appeal and Bang’s charming illustrations are impossible to resist. This story, the first in a series, will be popular in areas where sailboats rule the seas. Let’s hope Little Rat learns to swim in the next offering, as those who go down to the sea to sail should really learn to swim first. (Easy reader. 5-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-15-216297-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2002
One of the watershed moments in African-American history—the defeat of James Braddock at the hands of Joe Louis—is here given an earnest picture-book treatment. Despite his lack of athletic ability, Sammy wants desperately to be a great boxer, like his hero, getting boxing lessons from his friend Ernie in exchange for help with schoolwork. However hard he tries, though, Sammy just can’t box, and his father comforts him, reminding him that he doesn’t need to box: Joe Louis has shown him that he “can be the champion at anything [he] want[s].” The high point of this offering is the big fight itself, everyone crowded around the radio in Mister Jake’s general store, the imagined fight scenes played out in soft-edged sepia frames. The main story, however, is so bent on providing Sammy and the reader with object lessons that all subtlety is lost, as Mister Jake, Sammy’s father, and even Ernie hammer home the message. Both text and oil-on-canvas-paper illustrations go for the obvious angle, making the effort as a whole worthy, but just a little too heavy-handed. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2004
ISBN: 1-58430-161-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
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
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