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40 pp.
| Simon
| October, 2013
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4424-6743-9$17.99
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Leeza Hernandez.
Rhymes, many with klutzy cadence, relate the tale of a boy's concert attendance at an outdoor venue next to a zoo. The child falls asleep and dreams of the animals--yaks on the sax, a bonobo on oboe, etc.--chaotically taking over. Hernandez's silly, rocking digital illustrations steal the show here. A CD of the song performed by Lithgow is included.
32 pp.
| Simon
| October, 2008
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4169-5881-9$17.99
(3)
PS
Illustrated by
Robert Neubecker.
"I got two dogs, / Fanny and Blue. / Bet you kind of wish / you had two dogs too." In five entertaining verses, the text (sung by Lithgow on the accompanying CD) offers an affectionate description of the narrator's dogs. Neubecker's energetic digital illustrations show the unruly pups getting into all sorts of mischief not mentioned in the text.
40 pp.
| Simon
| March, 2007
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4169-2715-0$17.99
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Igor Oleynikov.
After Mahalia Mouse gets trapped in a Harvard student's backpack, she matriculates and takes the college by storm. Based on a commencement speech by Lithgow, many of the rhymes ("students" with "imprudence"; "family lost" with "holocaust") will go over the heads of the picture-book set. The muted mixed-media illustrations likewise feature grown-up humor. Includes a CD of the story read by Lithgow.
40 pp.
| Simon
| September, 2004
|
TradeISBN 0-689-86721-2$17.95
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Boris Kulikov.
Oliver spends the night at the Natural History Museum, where he witnesses the animals coming to life in the guise of people he knows (e.g., his classmates are hyenas, his schoolmaster a lion). Originally written to accompany an orchestral suite (CD included), the wordy text probably works better on a stage than in picture-book format. The anthropomorphized-animal renderings are engaging.
32 pp.
| Simon
| September, 2003
|
TradeISBN 0-689-85427-7$$17.95
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Ard Hoyt.
A little boy dreams that he's a manatee, escaping the confines of his bedroom to cavort under the sea. The text humorously plays off words that almost rhyme with "manatee": "I'm every bit as wrinkled as my grann-atee / No difference between my face and fann-atee." Unfortunately, the loose color images culminate in a final joke that doesn't quite work. The musical score and a CD featuring the song are provided.
40 pp.
| Simon
| September, 2002
|
TradeISBN 0-689-83341-5$$17.95
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
C. F. Payne.
Central Park squirrel Micawber enjoys looking at famous paintings through the skylight of a nearby museum. One day, he follows a young artist home from the museum and, as she sleeps, uses her paint and his bushy tail to create some art of his own. Written in lofty, fluid rhyme and illustrated with unaccountably drab mixed-media images, the story squanders its fine premise by failing to engage the emotions.