Emma’s father searches for UFOs; Elizabeth’s mother’s a jeweler; Aidan’s mother’s a NASCAR driver—but this story’s unnamed protagonist’s father changes light bulbs. Huh? Calmly ignoring her teacher’s attempt to turn to Spelling Is Spectacular after the Career Day presentations, she goes on to describe the job she helped him with just last weekend: He got his light-bulb changing gear (which includes climbing harness), took her up to the 102nd floor, went out the hatch and up the antenna. . . . Kimmel includes exactly the right factoids to keep young readers glued to the account, such as the necessity of turning off all the TV and radio stations that broadcast via the Empire State Building while its light bulb is being changed, and the exact distance (1,453 feet and 8 9/16 inches) from the tippy-top to the ground. Neubecker’s illustrations, while rather stiff in the classroom, come to life in the depiction of the incredible climb, as he peppers his backgrounds with flying saucers and imagines King Kong reading by the light of the newly changed bulb. Fizzy, fascinating and eminently kid-friendly. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: July 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-525-47789-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
At her best, Rylant’s (The Ticky-Tacky Doll, below, etc.) sweetness and sentiment fills the heart; in this outing, however, sentimentality reigns and the end result is pretty gooey. Pandora keeps a lighthouse: her destiny is to protect ships at sea. She’s lonely, but loves her work. She rescues Seabold and heals his broken leg, and he stays on to mend his shipwrecked boat. This wouldn’t be so bad but Pandora’s a cat and Seabold a dog, although they are anthropomorphized to the max. Then the duo rescue three siblings—mice!—and make a family together, although Rylant is careful to note that Pandora and Seabold each have their own room. Choosing what you love, caring for others, making a family out of love, it is all very well, but this capsizes into silliness. Formatted to look like the start of a new series. Oh, dear. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-689-84880-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2002
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