A floppy toy leaning against a rain-streaked window...a little boy gazing out the window...a dismal, deserted city street...One Monday morning (turn page quickly) the king (carrying an umbrella), the queen, and the little prince (in procession) came to visit me. But I wasn't home. (I was waiting at the bus stop) So the little prince said, "In that case we shall return on Tuesday." On Tuesday morning the procession was joined by the knight, But I wasn't home (I was on the subway). Each day the procession grew longer and larger and more splendid on arrival and more disheartened on departure, until... On Sunday morning the king, the queen, the little prince, the knight, a royal guard, the royal cook, the royal barber, the royal jester, and a little dog came to visit me. And I was home. So the little prince said. "We just dropped in to say hello." The little boy examining a deck of playing cards...the floppy toy, looking very like the royal barber, leaning against the sun-filled window.... The magnificence of the royal personages, expressively outlined and colored in the acid shades of old playing cards, contrasts with the muted tones of the tenement and the street. One single surprise—but the child can enjoy the visit again and again just by turning the pages and repeating the refrain.
Pub Date: March 28, 1967
ISBN: 0374456488
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1967
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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
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