Speed and Root (Two Cool Cows, 1995) pit a platoon of feisty prize spuds against grimacing chef Hackemup in this gleeful culinary contretemps. Once the sun sets over the county fair’s Bud and Bean Arena, the potatoes open their eyes and rumble out to sample the wild carnival ride called “The Zip”—until Hackemup, chef at the Chowder Lounge, snatches them up, singing delightedly of “Idaho and Juliet . . . Romeo and Julienne.” Speed breaks in and out of rhyme unpredictably; Root portrays the Lounge’s kitchen as a steamy vegetable hell, all huge boiling cauldrons and crisscrossed conveyor belts carrying passive, anxious-looking peppers, cabbages, eggplants, and onions to their soupy doom. Potatoes are made of sterner stuff, though, and, ganging up to push Hackemup into one of his own pots, they lead a vegetable charge out the door and down the street, carnival-ward. Any way you slice it, this tuberous triumph will have readers rolling in the aisles. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-399-23158-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2000
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
Every year since kindergarten, Harry’s Halloween costume has gotten scarier and scarier. What’s it going to be this year? He’s not telling. His classmates are all stunned when he shows up, not as some monster or a weird alien (well, not really)—but as neatly dressed Sgt. Joe Friday of Dragnet fame, wielding a notebook and out to get “just the facts, ma’am.” As she has in Harry’s 11 previous appearances (15, counting the ones his classmate Song Lee headlines), Kline (Marvin and the Mean Words, 1997, etc.) captures grammar-school atmosphere, personalities, and incidents perfectly, from snits to science projects gone hilariously wrong. She even hands Harry/Friday a chance to exercise his sleuthing abilities, with a supply of baby powder “fairy dust” gone mysteriously missing. As legions of fans have learned to expect, Harry comes through with flying colors, pinning down the remorseful culprit in 11 minutes flat. No surprises here, just reliable, child-friendly, middle-grade fare. Illustrations not seen. (Fiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-670-88864-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2000
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