Publishers Weekly Review
| With a dash of whimsy and a dollop of eccentricity, this sprightly tale of a ``young and musical frog who loved to draw'' contains an endearing hero, amusing pandemonium and a pleasingly happy ending. The plot is deliciously impossible: asked to take care of his only friend's freshly hatched egg, Bently paints it, then watches helplessly as it is ``eggnapped'' by a boy who mistakes it for an Easter egg. During the daring rescue, Bently befriends a stuffed elephant and an earnest goldfish, sings charmingly, escapes in a hot-air balloon and in a toy boat, and learns that he has more friends than he realizes. The sophisticated text, full of puns and echoes of 19th-century language--``Oh, joy! Oh, rapture!'' intones Bently on finding the lost egg--will appeal to adults as well as children. Joyce ( Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo ) fans will be enchanted with both the Steig-like story and the muted pastel drawings that brim with droll humor and surprises aplenty. Ages 4-8. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved |
School Library Journal Review
| PreS-Gr 3-- Bently Hopperton, a musical frog, is a wonderfully sturdy character, determined to right any wrong and to fulfill his obligation as a caregiver, all with humor and artistic flair. His duck friend, Kack Kack, and he have a long-time relationship, until Kack Kack lays an egg, which becomes the focus of her undivided attention. Bently feels he hasn't a friend in the world, but when he's asked to egg-sit, the fun begins. He decides the egg is boring, and paints it with such lovely patterns that a child steals it. Rising to the challenge, Bently rescues it in a series of rollicking adventures, punctuated by his bursts of song that add a touch of zest. There is a lovely twist as all of Bently's adventures and mishaps are revealed to Kack Kack. The illustrations for this delightful tale are charming in compostition and perspective, but the color saturation is so faint that their impact will be diminished on group sharing. The power of the story, however, and the sheer fun of the points of view explored in the pictures, will make this a one-on-one favorite. --Kay E. Vandergrift, School of Communication, Information and Library Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. |
Booklist Review
| Ages 5-8. From the writer-illustrator of A Day with Wilbur Robinson , Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo , and George Shrinks , here's a rather sentimental picture book illustrated in gentle pastel colors. Bently the grasshopper promises to watch his friend Kack Kack's egg while the duck goes off to see her newly hatched nephews and nieces. When a boy steals the precious egg, Bently recaptures it and forges his way through perils and misadventures to return it safely to Kack Kack. The egg hatches, and its grateful mother names her duckling Ben. Joyce certainly has a way with line, defining characters, emotions, and actions with a few deft strokes. Children will be drawn to the expressive, full-color artwork here, but the rambling, overextended story lacks the cohesiveness and spunk of Joyce's earlier picture books, and elements of the fantasy are unexplained, or unconvincing. Still, some readers and listeners might willingly suspend disbelief for the pleasure of watching the determined Bently. For larger picture-book collections, or those where Joyce has a strong following. (Reviewed Jan 1, 1992)0060203854Carolyn Phelan |
Horn Book Review
| When his one true friend, Kack Kack the duck, leaves him in charge of her single egg, Bently the frog decides to paint it - greatly improving its appearance, in his opinion. When a passing boy runs off with it, Bently follows in pursuit. The illustrations, painted in the palest of springtime palettes, feature comically expressive animals, and the playful language is a pleasure to read aloud. From HORN BOOK 1992, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. |
Kirkus Review
| Bently, an artistic frog, and Kack Kack, a recently widowed duck, are close friends: she takes care of his laundry and admires his drawings; he agrees to watch over her egg when she wants to visit her sister's new ducklings. Feeling lonely (the egg ``looked so blank''), Bently whiles away the time by painting it--a lucky thing, it turns out, since the decorations divert a passing boy from smashing it. But not from eggnapping. Bently follows, and a picaresque series of adventures ensues, happily concluded when he gets the egg safely home just in time for it to hatch and be named in his honor. Joyce's whimsical, sophisticated narrative includes some unabashed contrivances, especially a balloon that just happens to turn up to transport Bently and his fragile charge. Of most interest are the lucidly composed illustrations, in the tender hues of swampland in a morning mist; Bently is slim and elegant, the duck motherly and rotund, with a rather vacant look. This will never take the place of Dr. Seuss's Horton, but Bently's discovery that watching over the egg makes him care about it provides an interesting contrast to the elephant's more single- minded loyalty. (Picture book. 5-8) |
