Review by New York Times Review
A sock monkey is the titular character in this tale of boy, cat and toy. Working with his wife, Eileen, who makes her picture book debut, Marc Rosenthal places hugely appealing retro-cartoon illustrations against a spare backdrop. As boy and cat tussle over Bobo, fundamental preschooler emotions - desire, fear, frustration, despair - will play for appreciative giggles. ELMER AND THE RAINBOW Written and illustrated by David McKee. Unpaged. Andersen Press USA. $16.95. (Picture book; ages 4 to 9) Elmer the out-of-the-ordinary patchwork elephant, a paragon of diversity for the preschool set and a major star in Europe, shines in a new tale of munificence and collaboration. Here, Elmer aims to give his own colors to an inexplicably colorless rainbow. With its conflict-free resolution, "Elmer" serves as a kind of antidote to the controversial "Rainbow Fish," in which a multihued fish is loath to share. Generosity, in Elmer's world, is not a zero-sum game. THE TROUBLE WITH CHICKENS A J.J. Tully Mystery. By Doreen Cronin. Illustrated by Kevin Cornell. 119 pp. Balzer & Bray. $14.99. (Middle grade; ages 8 to 12) Spot-on humor and a clever story ensure this latest from Cronin will be a favorite among middle-grade readers. The plot thickens as the hero, J.J. Tully, a former search-and-rescue dog with the world-weary voice of a retired P.I., confronts a family of chickens and an "inside" dog, Vince. Trouble indeed, sweetheart - but worth it. AMELIA LOST The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart. By Candace Fleming. Illustrated. 118 pp. Schwartz & Wade Books. $18.99. (Middle grade; ages 8 to 12) Black-and-white photographs and elegant typography give this gorgeously produced book an appropriate period feel, while alternating chapters - one set following Earhart from childhood, the other tracking her final flight - provide historical context as well as vivid pacing. But though Fleming allows Earhart her glamorous due, she also strips her of myth, giving readers the accuracy they deserve. BLESS THIS MOUSE By Lois Lowry. Illustrated by Eric Rohmann. 152 pp. Houghton Mifflin. $15.99. (Middle grade; ages 9 to 12) Lowry, a two-time Newbery medalist, offers a winning fable about a parish of church mice. "Bless This Mouse" feels like an old-timey classic, but Mouse Mistress Hildegarde, though devout and resolute in caring for her wards, casually mentions "X-rated DVDs" (not that she would watch) and calls her nemesis a liar. No church lady, she. DEADLY By Julie Chibbaro. Illustrated. 293 pp. Atheneum. $16.99. (Young adult; ages 12 and up) Paced like a medical thriller, "Deadly" is the rare Y.A. novel in which a girl's intellectual interests trump adolescent romance. A 16-year-old Jewish tenement dweller in 1906 New York pines away days at a finishing school on scholarship and nights helping midwife young mothers. When she quits school to assist the Department of Health and Sanitation in its pursuit of "Typhoid Mary," she is awakened to nascent opportunities for women in science.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [March 13, 2011]
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Patchwork elephant Elmer is back and concerned about a pale "rainbow without colors." Planning to donate his own colors, Elmer seeks out the rainbow's end, along with several jungle animals that wonder what will happen to Elmer's colors if he gives them away. Elmer succeeds in giving the rainbow a boost of color, and happily his trademark checkerboard hide remains intact. The message-"Some things you can give and give and not lose any. Things like happiness or love or my colors"-lands with a bit of a thud, but ensures that Elmer will continue to brighten his friends' lives. Ages 4-9. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Horn Book Review
Elmer the patchwork elephant sets out to help a rainbow find its colors. The other animals are afraid that Elmer will lose his own, but of course selflessness wins the day. There's not a lot of tension to the story, but the pacing--and the lively rainbow-hued illustrations--will likely keep readers' attention. (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.
