Robin Newman
Author of The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake
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Works by Robin Newman
No Peacocks! 1 copy
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Statistics
- Works
- 8
- Members
- 96
- Popularity
- #196,089
- Rating
- 4.1
- Reviews
- 5
- ISBNs
- 12
As someone who has had problems sleeping at different points in my life, and who has also had the misfortune to live in some VERY loud apartment buildings - at my last apartment in NYC, I lived above people with a karaoke machine, who believed in regularly partying until the small hours with their closest one hundred friends - I identified with Hildie's woes here on an almost visceral level. Nothing is more maddening than wanting to sleep, and being prevented from doing so by the moronic thoughtlessness of others. I had to laugh at a review I read, claiming that the concerns raised in Hildie Bitterpickles Needs Her Sleep were indicative of suburban intolerance, as I thought that the solution to Hildie's problem - talking it out with her neighbors, and finding a solution that addressed their concerns, as well as hers - was a great example of tolerance and peacemaking skills. In my own situation, mentioned above, I would have been as likely to have a chat with my neighbors, who had the police called out for domestic violence complaints on more than one occasion, as I would have been to keep my windows open, given that some on floors above me liked to chuck raw food garbage out the window. But I digress.
Robin Newman's story in Hildie Bitterpickles Needs Her Sleep is engaging, and I appreciated all of the fairy-tale characters that appeared in it, both as Hildie's new neighbors, in the advertisements placed in the newspaper she reads at one point, and as her new roommates, in the houses she attempts to rent. As already mentioned, I also appreciated the solution here, as I do believe that attempting to address issues directly, rather than flying into a rage and/or attempting to escape the problem, is the better route. Sometimes (as in my own example above) this won't work, but many times it will. The accompanying artwork from Chris Ewald, a video game designer and animator who makes his debut here, are done digitally, and have some witchy charm, although sometimes the background was so dark it was difficult to see the details. All in all, although not destined to become a favorite, this was an entertaining witchy tale, one I would recommend to picture-book readers who enjoy such fare.… (more)