Review by Booklist Review
These excellent titles from the Clarion Book & Cassette Favorites series offer high-quality children's books in read-along and listening formats at modest prices. All the presentations have been chosen for their excellence in story line and illustrations and for their ease of dramatization. Anna Grossnickle Hines' Daddy Makes the Best Spaghetti shares young Corey's nightly routine, starting from the time he is picked up at his day care center. Eve Bunting's Scary, Scary Halloween reveals the exciting sights and sounds of Halloween night through the eyes of a mother cat and her kittens. Paul Galdone's vivid illustrations for Three Little Kittens offer a new look at the classic nursery tale. The use of various narrators adds drama to the clear, well-paced readings, which are enhanced by sound effects and background music. Although the titles' consumer-market packaging will make circulation difficult, the high quality of the audio is apt compensation. Ages 4-9. --Judy Morrissey
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1 Galdone lends new life and sense to the verse in this exuberant retelling of the Mother Goose rhyme with four delightful feline characters. The large type is readable and inviting, with only one or two lines of text per page. Double-page spreads are filled with vibrant watercolor washes over ink sketches. While the expressions of the cats will be the focus of children's attention, there are countless details for them to discover for themselves, such as the animal-influenced decor of the cats' home, the spice cabinet filled with different varieties of catnip, and cat ancestor portraits. Children will relate to the kittens' deserved punishment for carelessness, their theatrical displays of sorrow, and their earnest efforts to get into both their mother's good graces and that delicious looking pie. This refreshingly hearty version of the nonsense verse will be as much a favorite of adult storytellers as it will be of toddler listeners. Yvonne A. Frey, Peoria Public Library, Ill. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
These four books (more to come) appear in a uniform paper-over-board edition. Galdone was a refreshingly modest illustrator: his retellings are straightforward and his unassumingly loose-lined, color-separated pictures provide just enough embellishment, as when the lazy cat in The Little Red Hen lolls on the couch, dreaming of sardines. Plenty of white space gives the stories all the room they need. [Review covers these titles: The Little Red Hen, The Three Bears, Three Little Kittens, and The Three Little Pigs.] (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
