Violet has chosen a bright pink backpack on wheels with so many openings with zippers and snaps that she doesn’t really know what to do with them all, and—uh-oh. Where is the homework assignment that she thought she had zipped into the backpack? The descriptions of Violet’s sudden drop from excitement to panic to dread approaches the universal in their evocation of the inner confusion and misery that a small mistake can bring to a young child. Gently and realistically, the bright, eye-popping illustrations suggest that everyday ordinary life goes on despite Violet’s drooping body language and worried expressions. Poydar expertly shows her understanding of children, the creative orderly school environment and a teacher (aptly named Ms. Patience) ready to help teach the importance of truth. “I kept the truth zipped up,” says Violet. “But did you lose the truth?” asks Ms. Patience. “No,” Violet replies. Great visual details—check out Ms. Patience’s ankle tattoo and the subtle face incorporated into the backpack’s many pockets—and pointed text make for a worthwhile read. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2090-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2008
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
A sweet iteration of the “Big Bad Wolf Mellows Out” theme. Here, an old wolf does some soul searching and then learns to like vegetable stew after a half-frozen lamb appears on his doorstep, falls asleep in his arms, then wakes to give him a kiss. “I can’t eat a lamb who needs me! I might get heartburn!” he concludes. Clad in striped leggings and a sleeveless pullover decorated with bands of evergreens, the wolf comes across as anything but dangerous, and the lamb looks like a human child in a fleecy overcoat. No dreams are likely to be disturbed by this book, but hardened members of the Oshkosh set might prefer the more credible predators and sense of threat in John Rocco’s Wolf! Wolf! (March 2007) or Delphine Perrot’s Big Bad Wolf and Me (2006). (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-58925-067-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2007
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