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(2)
PS
Illustrated by
Kurt Cyrus.
A fleet of public-works vehicles delivers the makings for a town's holiday celebration while two kids watch and play in the snow. First on the scene is a pastel-pink and -blue truck with a giant doughnut on its roof. The doughnut truck looks a bit out of place, but more trucks arrive, drawing our attention elsewhere. Truck number four hauls a huge evergreen; a ladder truck (ten) helps workers place ornaments and lights. Other vehicles bring "a holiday band...a dancing snowman," a choir, Santa's sleigh, llamas, and more (including Santa himself in truck number twenty). When the star tree-topper falls and breaks, the sharp-eyed kids suggest a great replacement, bringing the story full-circle (just like the shape of a doughnut). This companion to 20 Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street (rev. 5/13) is brightened by Lee's rhyming text and Cyrus's winter-crisp digital illustrations.
Reviewer: Kitty Flynn
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2021
32 pp.
| Simon/Beach Lane
| September, 2015
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4814-0060-2$17.99
|
EbookISBN 978-1-4814-0061-9
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Kurt Cyrus.
This rhymed counting book explores numbers found in nature, from one (a mouth, nose, moon) to ten (toes and fingers), ending with a set too big to count (stars). Examples range from the familiar (birds, octopuses) to the hard to count (colors in a rainbow) to the less well known (stickleback fish). The digitally created illustrations evoke beauty and peace.
32 pp.
| Candlewick
| June, 2013
|
TradeISBN 978-0-7636-5809-0$15.99
(2)
PS
Illustrated by
Kurt Cyrus.
In a lively multitasking picture book, a young boy tells what happens when an ice-cream truck breaks down, blocking his street. A mail truck shows up and wants to get by, soon followed by a parade of others. The rhyming text provides commentary for sorting out the entertaining traffic jam in the double-page spreads done in bright digital art.
Reviewer: Julie Roach
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2013
220 pp.
| Simon/Beach Lane
| October, 2011
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4169-8641-6$16.99
(2)
4-6
Pals in Peril Tale series.
Illustrated by
Kurt Cyrus.
This fifth book in Anderson's good-humored satirical series gives new life to the paranormal horror novel. Lily, Jasper Dash, Katie, and Drgnan Pghlik must free Lily's mom from the clutches of a ghost--and themselves from the scorn of a snotty it-girl. Luckily, they kill two birds with one stone. Black-and-white illustrations aptly combine the hair-raising with the tongue-in-cheek.
294 pp.
| Simon/Beach Lane
| October, 2010
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4169-8640-9$16.99
(3)
4-6
Pals in Peril Tale series.
Illustrated by
Kurt Cyrus.
On the heels of their last escapade (Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware), Lily, Katie, and Jasper still face a harrowing journey through the mythical state where vowels have gone extinct and agents from the feared Ministry of Silence strive to capture them and win fabulous prizes. Rousing chase scenes and the series' signature absurdist embellishments--sentient lobsters!--enliven Anderson's adventure-story spoof.
251 pp.
| Simon/Beach Lane
| June, 2010
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4424-0697-1$17.99 New ed. (2006, Harcourt)
(2)
4-6
Pals in Peril Tale series.
Illustrated by
Kurt Cyrus.
In Stilts, a stilt-walking army of whales is about to take over the world. Lederhosen finds Katie, Jasper, and Lily involved in a mystery at the Moose Tongue Lodge and Resort. These volumes, featuring new cover art, have been repackaged as the Pals in Peril Tale series. Review covers these Pals in Peril Tale titles: The Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen and Whales on Stilts!
199 pp.
| Simon/Beach Lane
| June, 2010
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4424-0695-7$17.99 New ed. (2005, Harcourt)
(2)
4-6
Pals in Peril Tale series.
Illustrated by
Kurt Cyrus.
In Stilts, a stilt-walking army of whales is about to take over the world. Lederhosen finds Katie, Jasper, and Lily involved in a mystery at the Moose Tongue Lodge and Resort. These volumes, featuring new cover art, have been repackaged as the Pals in Peril Tale series. Review covers these Pals in Peril Tale titles: The Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen and Whales on Stilts!
40 pp.
| Simon
| August, 2010
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4169-3788-3$16.99
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Kurt Cyrus.
As fall settles over the forest, the animals climb aboard the hibernation train. But no one can settle down: someone is uncomfortable; a snoring roommate is too loud; others need snacks. Finally they all fall asleep, and the train chugs into winter. The detailed illustrations accompanying the pleasing rhyme show pajama-clad animals and an ever-more-wintry landscape.
423 pp.
| Simon/Beach Lane
| September, 2009
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4169-8639-3$16.99
(2)
4-6
Pals in Peril Tale series.
Illustrated by
Kurt Cyrus.
Jasper, Katie, and Lily (Whales on Stilts, The Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen) again save the world. A "competitive staring" contest begins the nonsense, setting off a chain of events in which the friends help monks retrieve stolen artifacts. Anderson stuffs every scene with exotic setting details; that the mystical locale is Delaware gives the story an added layer of absurdity.
32 pp.
| Simon
| February, 2009
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4169-3981-8$16.99
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Kurt Cyrus.
A worker hammers larger-than-life letters into words then piles them into "sentence towers," eventually crafting "paragraph villages" and "chapter cities." The construction metaphor suggests that writing gives us the power to build amazing new worlds. Cyrus's striking illustrations are technical yet fanciful and depict the building process from a variety of perspectives.
40 pp.
| Simon
| June, 2007
|
TradeISBN 978-0-689-85569-6$16.99
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Kurt Cyrus.
After a carpet beetle announces the annual Pest Fest talent show, Ladybug, Butterfly, et al., take turns singing their own praises. The refrains beginning "Pest Fest! Pest Fest!" throw off the book's rhyme scheme, but the text and the art, which shows the bugs to scale against human body parts, will enlighten readers, who will cheer for the contest's unlikely winner.
32 pp.
| Simon/Wiseman
| February, 2005
|
TradeISBN 0-689-86667-4$16.95
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Kurt Cyrus.
The main text of this picture book is written in a folksy style ("A good-hearted family howdied their newest young'un into this ol' world"). While this style doesn't accurately reflect the nature of Holly's music, the book is successful in focusing on Holly's West Texas roots and his early musical influences. Energetic art accompanies the text. Author's note, websites. Bib.
32 pp.
| Harcourt
| October, 2003
|
TradeISBN 0-15-216735-8$$16.00
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Kurt Cyrus.
This rhyming story, which is fun to read aloud, tells how the diminutive Annie Halfpint tamed an avalanche. "She caught that slick slide-winder. / She tied that shoosher down. / She hitched it like a doggy-sled / and rode it into town." Action-packed illustrations, just right for a tall tale, give the stocky heroine plenty of personality.
32 pp.
| Harcourt
| September, 2002
|
TradeISBN 0-15-202004-7$$16.00
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Kurt Cyrus.
A young brother and sister hang a plastic skeleton in a tree where it dances and clatters in the wind. On Halloween, the skeleton disappears and a mysterious grave-shaped mound appears in the yard. Related in rhyme, this atmospheric if impersonal story is accompanied by scratchboard illustrations that emphasize its spookier aspects but don't give the children much character.
32 pp.
| Harcourt
| April, 2002
|
TradeISBN 0-15-202676-2$$16.00
(4)
PS
Illustrated by
Kurt Cyrus.
After a tornado whisks away the fence between Cowboy Gene's and Cowgirl Sue's pastures, their two herds mingle and wander together, confused by their owners' dueling cattle calls. Illustrated in earth tones, the rhyming story trots along to a predictable but satisfying ending with the cowpokes making the new cattle combo permanent--by tying the knot.
40 pp.
| Harcourt/Gulliver
| September, 2000
|
TradeISBN 0-15-202304-6$$16.00
(4)
PS
Illustrated by
Kurt Cyrus.
Sliver and Slice, two grouchy old mice who live a miserly life in an abandoned car, routinely turn away other neighborly mice as well as those in need. However, one cold winter night, they open their home to four young mice, changing everyone's lives forever. Although the rhyme becomes tedious, the book includes many child-pleasing details in the illustrations, including Sunday comics wallpaper, an oil-can furnace, and mice clad in denim overalls.
32 pp.
| May, 1999
|
TradeISBN 0-15-201647-3$$16.00
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Kurt Cyrus.
Bored, Laloo the calf decides to run away. She explores a grassy meadow, a shady forest, and a gurgling stream before her mother Mamoo's affectionate refrain coaxes her back home. Though offering nothing particularly new, the text adequately captures the familiar childhood desire for independence. Watercolor and colored pencil illustrations convey the lush appeal of Laloo's surroundings.