The artistic journey of a porcine Parisian painter. From an early age, Louie has loved to draw and to listen to the fanciful stories of his mother’s piglethood, when she went to school in an old schoolhouse “that was covered in vines.” At school he gets in trouble for drawing while other students dutifully work on their lessons. Desperate, Mother sends Louie to his uncle and aunt, who own a hotel. Despite some missteps, he continues to develop his artwork, and his aunt and uncle introduce him to their friend Vincent, an art dealer. Louie’s career begins in earnest but really takes off when, while recuperating from a bicycle accident, he meets his muse, a little girl recovering from an appendectomy proudly showing off her scar in the next room. Hillenbrand’s not-so-surprise twist: Louie’s human counterpart is Ludwig Bemelmans, the creator of Madeline; an interesting biographical note is provided. Hillenbrand’s lovely illustrations, intricately employing multiple media, are full of whimsy. His prose, however, though clearly a heartfelt homage, strains to wrestle Bemelmans’s biography into a playfully childlike story with only limited success. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-24707-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-81175-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998
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