The hardworking, lantern-jawed gent introduced in Man on the Moon (2002) finds doggy (more or less) companionship in this cheerfully oddball sequel. Searching for “a pal who’ll always be by my side,” Bob mopes through an ordinary Earth day of solitary meals and errands (spaceship batteries and Moon-patterned underwear) before rocketing off to work as a guide and performer for lunar tourists. The ordinary events described in Bartram’s text find hilarious counterpoint in the seemingly staid illustrations. As Bob obliviously goes about his business, sharp-eyed viewers will pick out small alien hands snatching every cupcake in sight, pigeons and other city residents transformed with bright colors and eyes on stalks and, in nearly every scene, a small tail-wagger who looks just like a puppy save for the single eye atop its head. Of course, Bob and this last do ultimately hook up, and go off blissfully together. Fans of Chris Gall’s There’s Nothing To Do On Mars (2008) and William Joyce’s classic Day With Wilbur Robinson (1990, 2006) will be richly entertained. Value added: a glow-in-the-dark poster inside the jacket. (Picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7636-4425-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Templar/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2009
Thanks to parrot-toting Braidbeard and his gloriously disreputable crew, a lad discovers the ups and downs of a pirate’s life in this rousing mini-epic. His mom and dad busy on another part of the beach, young Jeremy happily joins a band of hook-handed, eye-patched, snaggle-toothed pirates aboard their ship, learning pirate table manners (none), enjoying a game of nautical soccer until a shark eats the ball, then happily retiring without having to brush teeth, or even don pajamas. But then Jeremy learns that pirates don’t get tucked in, or get bedtime stories, and as for good night kisses—Avast! Worse yet, no one offers comfort when a storm hits. So, giving over the pirate’s life, Jeremy shows the crew where to bury its treasure (his backyard), and bids them goodbye. Shannon outfits Braidbeard’s leering, pop-eyed lot in ragged but colorful pirate dress, and gives his young ruffian-in-training a belt and bandanna to match. This isn’t likely to turn pirate wannabees into landlubbers, but it will inspire a chorus of yo-ho-hos. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-15-201848-4
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound.
The titular cookie runs off the page at a bookstore storytime, pursued by young listeners and literary characters.
Following on 13 previous How To Catch… escapades, Wallace supplies sometimes-tortured doggerel and Elkerton, a set of helter-skelter cartoon scenes. Here the insouciant narrator scampers through aisles, avoiding a series of elaborate snares set by the racially diverse young storytime audience with help from some classic figures: “Alice and her mad-hat friends, / as a gift for my unbirthday, / helped guide me through the walls of shelves— / now I’m bound to find my way.” The literary helpers don’t look like their conventional or Disney counterparts in the illustrations, but all are clearly identified by at least a broad hint or visual cue, like the unnamed “wizard” who swoops in on a broom to knock over a tower labeled “Frogwarts.” Along with playing a bit fast and loose with details (“Perhaps the boy with the magic beans / saved me with his cow…”) the author discards his original’s lip-smacking climax to have the errant snack circling back at last to his book for a comfier sort of happily-ever-after.
A brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-0935-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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