The House That Went Ker-Splat!

January 1, 2009
PreS-Gr 2-These two retellings of biblical parables replace human characters with insects. The divergent personalities of the bugs come through in their conversations and behaviors. In "House", two creatures set up construction companies to build homes. Willie and his crew abide by the rules while Ray directs his workers to use shortcuts. When a disastrous storm blows in, Willie's houses remain intact; Ray's collapse. In "Stink Bug", a family boards a motor home to head off for a vacation at Six Rag amusement park. On the way, a rowdy gang stops them. Pop, severely injured, tells his son to get help and take the rest of the family with him. Marching ants, followed by snobbish butterflies, see him, but pass by without coming to his aid. A stink bug and snail rescue Pop, who is eventually reunited with the family. Both didactic picture books inject pop culture into the traditional parables. The rhyme schemes are often stretched. Speech bubbles set the dialogue apart from the text. Each book concludes with a clear statement of the moral. Children will be entertained by the many details in Smith's comical cartoon-style artwork, which varies in size and features blues, greens, yellows, and purples. Vehicles are made from recycled materials. Parents seeking more traditional biblical versions will need to look elsewhere, but these lively, action-filled retellings do make the lessons accessible to children. Libraries desiring to broaden their selections of religious materials might consider them."Lynn K. Vanca, Akron-Summit County Public Library, Richfield, OH"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2009
Cartoon creatures, ostensibly insects, act out two New Testament parables. In [cf2]Ker-splat[cf1], one bug constructs a house according to the rules while his corner-cutting friend gets arrested. [cf2]Stink Bug[cf1] saves another bug from a gang of flies. In both books the painfully forced rhymes and muddy illustrations lack child appeal and do nothing to enhance the stories on which they're based.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)