Rick Walton

Living alone on her farm near the edge of the woods, Mrs. McMurphy tended to her animals with care, and went about her daily chores with a light heart. When a large pumpkin with a wicked grin appeared in her hall four days before Halloween, announcing that when it had teeth it would eat her, Mrs. McMurphy wasn't particularly worried, and put it outside. Each day the pumpkin reappeared in her house, with an additional feature - a nose, ears, eyes - and a continued threat. When Halloween show more itself came, and the pumpkin appeared with teeth, Mrs. McMurphy was ready, and made very good use of the threatening gourd...

I wasn't sure what I would make of Mrs. McMurphy's Pumpkin, which was my second book from author Rick Walton, following upon his Girl and Gorilla: Out and About, and my first from illustrator Delana Bettoli. The cover artwork here looked sweet, but the story idea sounded spooky. In the end I found that the whole thing just worked, with the charming, seemingly innocent artwork and text serving to make the spooky elements funny rather than frightening. The pumpkin kept threatening Mrs. McMurphy, and she kept chiding it as if it were a truculent toddler, which made me giggle a bit. I can see how the juxtaposition of sweet and scary here might not work for some, but for whatever reason, it tickled my often hard-to-reach funny bone. Leaving aside the story, the illustrations themselves were beautiful, and I'd love to see more of Bettoli's work. Her style would make an excellent accompaniment to a fairy-tale retelling, I would think. As for this one, I'd recommend it to picture-book readers seeking Halloween stories that blend humor and thrills. show less

Girl and Gorilla are best friends, and enjoy playing together in this sweet picture-book. When Gorilla turns up on Girl's doorstep one day, the pair decide to head to the park, but Gorilla's many concerns and suggestions - how will they get to the park after they crash their bicycle? should they hopscotch there? ride an elephant? - provide numerous digressions. Fortunately Girl is patient, and knows how to keep her friend on track...

With an understated sense of humor that is all the more show more appealing for its subtlety, Girl & Gorilla: Out and About is an entertaining and ultimately heartwarming tale of two friends with very different personalities - Gorilla is exuberant, and all over the place, while Girl is more collected, and capable of keeping him on track - who complement one another perfectly. The artwork by Joe Berger, created using both traditional and digital media, is colorful and engaging, adding to the sense of fun already found in the text. Recommended to anyone looking for new children's stories about friendship, and having patience with our companions. show less

Had to buy this for my daughter since we both loved Madeleine when she was little. The book is not just a parody, but it has very clever and interesting illustrations with lots to discover and discuss in them. This would make a terrific Halloween gift for a child who enjoys such things as ghouls and goblins.

A picture book following an anthropomorphic bunny family through their day. The text says what the bunnies are doing and what time they are doing it. Each illustration includes an analog clock within the scene showing the appropriate time. I imagine this would be a good start to helping children tell time on clocks with hands, though there is no complexity to the times shown (they are all on the hour). Aside from that, the book is sweet and shows a family doing things together, including show more getting chores done in a timely fashion so that everyone can enjoy more fun activities together afterwards. A book that can teach some lessons without feeling overly didactic or preachy. The illustrations are rich (lots of "new" things to see on repeat readings) and lovely. show less