Saturday is Jack’s favorite day—story hour day! But Jack and his friends Angie and Melden can’t go to the library until they finish their chores, and it looks as if they might have to miss story hour altogether. Unless, of course, they can come up with a plan to get out of doing their work and sneak away . . .
The power of a good story brings a mischievous Saturday to a satisfying conclusion in this playful picture book featuring amazingly fresh, captivating illustrations by a talented first-time author/illustrator.
Three friends feel guilty about going to story hour at the library instead of doing what their parents told them to do.
Daniel J. Mahoney is a self-taught artist who works in a hospital as an X-ray technician. He lives in Albany, New York, with his wife, Jean, and their son, Ryan.
Jack the bear so adores his library's story hour that he shirks his chores in order to attend and he convinces his pals Angie the rabbit and Melden the mouse to do likewise. Jack "cleans" his room by stuffing everything into and under the bed; Angie leaves a tape of her piano recital so that her father will think she's practicing; and Melden hands off his shutter-painting duties to his younger brothers. But when the storyteller unwittingly pricks the trio's consciences, they leave early and help one another set matters right. While debut author/artist Mahoney has fun with the misdirected ingenuity of his characters, his story is a little too didactic to wholeheartedly entertain. However, his tidy, cheery watercolors have an easygoing energy, and he creates wonderful moments of visual slapstick. Melden, for example, guiltily worries that his brothers have run amuck with the paintbrush, and imagines them painting "I LUV CHEEZ" on their white house. Mahoney's technique is accomplished: his watercolors realistically convey a range of textures, from Jack's fur to autumn foliage. Sharp-eyed readers will find little jokes, too, such as the Bruins pennant and bee-patterned curtains in the hero's room. This newcomer's work bears watching. Ages 5-8. (Mar.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
K-Gr 2-Jack the Bear and his pals are excited about storyhour at the library, but their parents expect them to do their chores on Saturday morning. Jack is supposed to clean his room, Angie is supposed to practice piano, and Melden is charged with painting the shutters. They all come up with slapdash solutions that allow them to sneak away, convinced that their deceptions are harmless. Their consciences get the better of them soon enough, however, and all three rush to set things right. Mahoney's illustrations have immense kid-appeal, with likable anthropomorphic animals in a cheerful, verdant setting. Librarians will enjoy seeing storyhour featured so prominently in a picture book. The plot is somewhat problematic, however-readers will wonder why everyone insists on the children doing their chores during a regularly scheduled storyhour. Couldn't they go to the library first, and do their chores afterward? But then, of course, there would be no story; the entire narrative depends on their somewhat ill-conceived dilemma. Mahoney's fledgling effort is by no means an essential purchase.-Catherine Threadgill, Charleston County Public Library, SC Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
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