Crocodile thinks Hen would make a mighty tasty chicken dinner, until Hen stops him with his jaws agape with a simple, powerful statement: “My brother, don’t eat me.” Hen confidently turns her back on danger and walks away, leaving Crocodile mystified as to how he can be her brother since they are so different. The patterned story continues with Crocodile longing to devour Hen, and Hen repeating her calm mantra. Crocodile enumerates the differences between the two species, questions other animals about the supposed familial connection, and finally receives an answer from his friend Lizard, who points out that all animals who lay eggs are related, and thus brothers and sisters in a way. Lexau based this skillfully told, mid-level easy reader on a Bakongo folktale from the Republic of the Congo, and this version is a newly illustrated and revised version of her story, originally published in 1969. Cushman (What Moms Can’t Do, 2000, etc.) adds to the humor of the tale with his expressive animal characters in pen and ink with a watercolor wash. Beginning readers will eat up this simple but satisfying story with a clever moral, a bit of science, and one hilarious slip from the hungry crocodile: “How good to eat you. Oops, I mean meet you again, Sister.” Thoughtful teachers and parents might use this book to spark a discussion of tolerance and harmony among diverse groups or even to introduce the principles of nonviolent resistance and worldwide brother- and sisterhood. (author’s note) (Easy reader/folktale. 5-8)
Pub Date: April 30, 2001
ISBN: 0-06-028486-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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
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