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Buster Goes to Cowboy Camp
by Denise Fleming
Reviewed by Bill Capossere
Buster's owner is going away and while Betty the cat gets to go to the neighbor's, the neighbor doesn't much like dogs. So
Buster has to go to "cowboy camp" at Sagebrush Kennels. Buster isn't happy about saying goodbye to his owner (brown boots)
and hello to the Kennel owner (red boots) or about how his bunkmate drools, or how the first day has the other dogs playing
games ("Buster was not good at games"). And he misses Betty and Brown Boots and his familiar bed and smells. But after he
accidentally catches a ball ("maybe Buster wasn't so bad at games after all"), things start to look up. And after a day of
game playing, a good dinner of bacon and beans, and the news that tomorrow will bring rope tricks and shiny badges, Buster
decides that maybe Cowboy Camp isn't so bad. That night he's happily drooling away to sleep.
The text is simple, warm and humorous, becoming a bit more complex as Buster starts to enjoy his day. The statements about
his homesickness are sad in their brevity and simplicity, but not overwrought and toddlers will easily relate to those same
feelings. The illustrations are also simple, and a bit rough, though their expressiveness is pleasingly clear and as warm
and funny as the text.
The premise is admittedly a bit odd, and the map of the "ranch" seems equally strange, but the empathy readers will have
with Buster and the warmly droll text makes Buster an enjoyable read.
Herb, the Vegetarian Dragon
by Jules Bass, illustrated by Debbie Harter
Reviewed by Bill Capossere
Herb, the Vegetarian Dragon tends his vegetable garden while the other dragons and their leader, Meathook, raid
Castle Dark to feast on "sweet" princesses and "crispy" knights. When the knights' leader, Bernard the Bold, announces a
great hunt to round up all the dragons of the forest, all the dragons hide, but forget to tell Herb, who is quickly
captured. Meathook offers to rescue him if he takes a bite of boar meat and "becomes one of us." But Herb refuses. After
Herb is saved anyway, by a little girl, it is Meathook's turn to be captured. But having learned that not all dragons are
killers, the king makes an offer that if the dragons foreswear eating people, he'll spare Meathook's life and not hunt the
others. The dragons agree and peace comes to the forest.
The book has an obvious message of diversity and acceptance. Since the carnivorous dragons remain
carnivorous (though some become vegetarian), it's about accepting people's choices rather than saying one choice is better
than another. While the text doesn't do much beyond convey the theme, the language is solid. The illustrations are whimsical and colorful, with cute moments off to the side of the main action (such as a
knight petting a cat, the cheery smile on a horse's face). They won't make you ooh or ahh, but they'll make you chuckle.
For a picture book the violence or implied violence might be a bit strong. In one panel we see dragons with knights in
their mouths, in another a shackled and collared Herb is being dragged off to be killed, and the text has the knights
yelling "death to the dragons" while the dragons sing about stewing the knights. It certainly isn't graphic, but it also
is not for the very young.
I Wish I Was Tall Like Willie; I Wish I Was Strong Like Manuel
by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook, illustrated by Bonnie Adamson
by Julie M. Prince, Off to Turn Another Page...
Bilingual companion books, I Wish I Was Tall Like Willie and I Wish I Was Strong Like Manuel,
explore kids' desire to change the things they least like about themselves. Manuel spikes his hair up high and adds
rolled socks to his shoes in an effort to be tall like his friend Willie. Meanwhile, Willie pulls his shirt on over a
pair of his brother's water wings—a desperate attempt to look as strong and muscular as Manuel.
The books are in both English and Spanish on each page, giving readers a simple way to compare and contrast words, even
while they compare and contrast the books themselves.
The text is simple enough for kids reading either (or both) of the languages to grasp the concept easily, and just in case,
a side-by-side word key is included at the backs of the books. The voice and the flow of the text is reminiscent of Mercer
Mayer's Little Critter series, with protagonists who are charming but lacking self-confidence.
Best of all are the watercolor illustrations that brilliantly convey the humor of these kids and their antics, along with
the pride and jealous streaks of each.
It's probably a safe bet to assume that the other two books in the series, I Wish I Had Glasses Like Rosa and
I Wish I Had Freckles Like Abby, by the same authors and illustrator, are just as endearing.
Paco and the Giant Chile Plant/Paco y la planta de chile gigante
by Keith Polette, illustrated by Elizabeth O. Dulemba
by Julie M. Prince, Off to Turn Another Page...
In a re-telling of Jack and the Beanstalk, Paco trades his family's only valuable possession for a bag of chile
seeds. Naturally, the seeds grow into a giant chile plant, which Paco scurries up to find a world of clouds surrounding a
great house. It's not hard to predict the discovery of a giant within the house, but an interesting twist for some readers
will be the giant's threat, changed to reflect his new cultural background.
"Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum, I smell the blood of a human one. Be he thin or be he fat, for my tortilla, I'll grind him flat!"
It sounds silly, but the best stories and biggest hits with kids seem to be the stories that take them by surprise. This
story definitely will.
Keith Polette's lyrical text is interspersed with Spanish terms, translated casually from English as the story builds,
so that children naturally understand their meaning in context.
Elizabeth O. Dulemba's illustrations easily match the theme of the book, using warm golden tones to highlight Paco's great
expectations. The glowing eyes of Paco and the ragged fingernails and snaggled teeth of the giant do much to bring both
characters to life on the page.
I'm impressed with the initiative of Raven Tree Press with their bilingual line, and I look forward to reviewing more of
their books.
Off to turn another page...
Rain Play
by Cynthia Cotten, illustrated by Javaka Steptoe
Reviewed by Bill Capossere
Rain Play marries a very simple poetic description of a rainy day at the playground to Javaka Steptoe's more
complex paper cut-out illustrations. As mentioned, the text is quite simple, aimed at smaller children: a rhyming couplet
made up of 3-5 words totaling 3-5 syllables on each page (at the park/the sky grows dark). For the most part, the poem
moves along smoothly. I thought there were one or two places where it felt a bit awkward, though a different reading
would probably compensate for that. The illustrations have a wonderful sense of depth, a sharp clarity, and different
gradations of African-American skin tone.
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod
by Eugene W. Field, illustrated by Giselle Potter
by Julie M. Prince, Off to Turn Another Page...
From the wispy, filmy sail on the wooden shoe boat to the repetitive facial features carried through the book,
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod has a nice, dreamy quality to it. Those facial features are shared by the implied
dreamer of the story, which is a great touch by the illustrator.
I'm not personally fond of the way the brushstrokes on some pages wrap around larger objects to represent shadow. I'm sure
it's a purposeful technique, but it feels rushed and simplistic to me. The squared head shapes were distracting to me as
well.
There were things about the illustrations that I loved, like the personified wind and moon, and the image of shimmering
herring fish, used in both the text and the paintings as a comparison to stars. I also liked the central role played by
simple objects in the dreamer's room.
My favorite part was the Illustrator's Note at the back of the book, highlighting the beliefs of the poem's author,
Eugene W. Field, that "children should indulge their daydreams and imaginations before they must assume the
responsibilities of adulthood."
Hear, hear!
Books Reviewed:
Buster Goes to Cowboy Camp, by Denise Fleming. Henry Holt and Co., 2008.
ISBN: 0-8050-7892-4.
Herb, the Vegetarian Dragon, by Jules Bass, illustrated by Debbie Harter.
Barefoot Books, 2007. ISBN: 1-9052-3647-6.
I Wish I Was Tall Like Willie, by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook, illustrated by Bonnie Adamson.
Raven Tree Press, 2008. ISBN: 0-9794-4620-1.
I Wish I Was Strong Like Manuel, by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook, illustrated by Bonnie Adamson.
Raven Tree Press, 2008. ISBN: 0-9770-9067-1.
Paco and the Giant Chile Plant/Paco y la planta de chile gigante,
by Keith Polette, illustrated by Elizabeth O. Dulemba. Raven Tree Press, 2008. ISBN: 0-9770-9062-0.
Rain Play, by Cynthia Cotten, illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. Henry Holt and Co., 2008.
ISBN: 0-8050-6795-7.
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, by Eugene W. Field, illustrated by Giselle Potter. Schwartz & Wade, 2008.
ISBN: 0-3758-4196-2.
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