In yet another delightfully inventive picture book, Steig combines a tale of uncanny transformation with his distinctively animated illustrations. By coincidence, Solomon the rabbit scratches his nose and wiggles his toes simultaneously—and a marvelous metamorphosis occurs: he discovers that he's capable of turning himself into a nail. Fueled by this unique ability, Solomon proceeds to test the trick on unsuspecting friends, who are baffled, and at home, where he mystifies everyone. But the thrill of the prank grows dull as time passes, and Solomon concentrates on Parcheesi and collecting butterflies. One summer day, while Solomon is searching for rare butterfly specimens in a meadow, he meets a most unpleasant stranger—Ambrose, a one-eyed cat. Armed with a knife, Ambrose is ready to march Solomon home to cook for supper. It's a frightful predicament but suddenly Solomon remembers his magic trick and vanishes. Ambrose, whose surly demeanor would frighten anyone, marches off in a rather confused state. Solomon reappears prematurely and is spotted by the cat, who pockets him as a nail and takes him away, not quite understanding the strange turn of events. Clorinda, his portly wife, doesn't really believe Ambrose's tale, but they put the nail in a padlocked cage in anticipation of fresh rabbit stew. As the days pass, the two become increasingly frustrated, and Ambrose eventually hammers Solomon into the side of the house in a fit of rage. Being a nail imbedded in a wall is a new experience for Solomon and he copes as best he can, though a pervading sense of loneliness permeates his reverie. A stroke of good fortune luckily occurs and Solomon returns home to his astounded family. Children will love this bizarre tale with its humorous drawings and lively sense of fun. Steig continues to create enchanting pictures in the style that has brought him international popularity.
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1985
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1985
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
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