Language purists may wince, but everyone else will applaud this Gallic tale of boy and dog separated, then reunited. “NO DOGS ALLOWED” reads the sign outside La School d’Excellence, and so young Jean Claude Jean is forced to leave his faithful Bonaparte back at the chateau. Bonaparte has other ideas, trying again and again to outwit the school’s rather nearsighted overseers. But when a last disguise finally works, Jean Claude is gone. Undismayed, Bonaparte offers his tracking services to the panicked trustees. Never one to leave a page unfilled, Halperin expands the short text considerably, fitting sequential scenes, views of Bonaparte searching city streets, thumbnail portraits and, for good measure, the occasional row of dogs or pastries, all within a series of patterned borders. Busy? Yes. Jumbled? Not at all. Because it’s drawn with vanishingly fine, but clear lines and exquisitely controlled color, every tiny detail in the harmonious illustrations is distinct, waiting to be picked out by fascinated viewers. In the end, Bonaparte tracks down his wayward boy, and the grateful trustees add a “W” to the “NO” on their sign—prompting a wave of new canine admissions. A chien sans peur is Bonaparte, coupling engagingly doggy devotion with rare ingenuity. (Picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7894-2617-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2000
Sloat collaborates with Huffman, a Yu’pik storyteller, to infuse a traditional “origins” tale with the joy of creating. Hearing the old women of her village grumble that they have only tasteless crowberries for the fall feast’s akutaq—described as “Eskimo ice cream,” though the recipe at the end includes mixing in shredded fish and lard—young Anana carefully fashions three dolls, then sings and dances them to life. Away they bound, to cover the hills with cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries. Sloat dresses her smiling figures in mixes of furs and brightly patterned garb, and sends them tumbling exuberantly through grassy tundra scenes as wildlife large and small gathers to look on. Despite obtrusively inserted pronunciations for Yu’pik words in the text, young readers will be captivated by the action, and by Anana’s infectious delight. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-88240-575-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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