Dave Horowitz

Five little gefilte fish head out into the world one by one in this hilarious rhyming picture-book from author/illustrator Dave Horowitz, and although their concerned mother keeps up a refrain of "Oy vehs!," fewer and fewer of them come back. Eventually Mama Gefilte is left on her own, making her solitary way to the park. But what's this?! Her gefiltes have been well trained, and prove themselves true mensches by visiting their mother...

Using the classic children's song about the Five Little show more Ducks as a jumping-off point, Horowitz creates an entertaining Yiddish adventure in Five Little Gefiltes, one that will introduce young children to quite a bit of vocabulary from that language, while also keeping them engaged with a silly sing-song story. I enjoyed the main story here, as well as the little speech-bubble asides, and appreciated the inclusion of a Yiddish glossary at the rear. Recommended to anyone in the market for humorous sing-song picture-books in general, or Yiddish-themed tales specifically. show less

Horowitz wrote and illustrated a number of children's books before partially leaving the kidlit world to become a paramedic. He has returned with a few books in the last few years, but this one is the first that introduces his other profession as a paramedic.
A brief introduction explains what EMS is, how to contact them, and what they do, with a reminder never to say the "q-word." Then the story begins. With a bouncing rhythm, readers are introduced to Sally, a paramedic with glasses and show more freckles, and Gus, an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) who is bright blue and has fangs and three eyes. Sally appears white, Gus is obviously a monster. Together they travel through the city, helping monsters in distress reminding them (and the reader) not say the "q-word" - quiet - because then things start hopping!

They pick up a sick zombie (you know there's something wrong when all tests return healthy!) a skeleton who's gotten scattered, and Mama Kraken, whose eggs are hatching. Most people are helpful in return, moving out of the way of the ambulance, except that one guy... The story ends with the hope for a quiet shift, which is sure to be anything but and a glossary defining everything from Tibia to Huge Spider, IV to That Guy "that one guy. the one you don't want to be like."

Horowitz's cartoons are bright and colorful, with grinning vampires, ghastly green zombies, and other humorously ghoulish creatures.

Verdict: Horowitz has made a child-friendly introduction to the job of a paramedic. Adults will understand that there's a lot more to the job and it can be more dangerous and traumatic, but for kids who just want to know what ambulances do and get a glimpse into the busy lives of an EMS squad, this is a fun and light-hearted story.

ISBN: 9780399548505; Published August 2020 by Nancy Paulsen; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library show less

"I am the ugly pumpkin, / as you can plainly see. / Of one hundred thousand pumpkins, none are quite like me." And so begins this rhyming tale of a disconsolate squash who imagines that he is an ugly pumpkin, and becomes progressively more dejected when no one selects him as jack-o-lantern material at Halloween. Then he discovers a garden of other squashes, realizes who he is and settles in for a happy Thanksgiving feast with his new friends...

Clearly inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's show more classic fairy-tale, The Ugly Duckling, in which a swan imagines he is an unusual duck, The Ugly Pumpkin is a fun little fall picture-book, including both Halloween and Thanksgiving themes. The text reads fairly well, and the boldly colorful artwork, created using cut-paper, charcoal and pencil, is eye-catching. All in all, this would make an excellent read-aloud selection for an autumn-themed story-time, although I wasn't sure just what to make of the story conclusion. Given that pumpkins are destined to be used by others as jack-o-lanterns in this story, it seemed somehow odd that squash, rather than being destined to be used as food, are instead the consumers of a feast. No doubt it wouldn't have made a very happy ending for the main character to be made into pie or soup. Leaving aside the question of the ending, this is one I would recommend to those seeking pumpkin-themed picture-books for this time of year. show less

Nursery rhyme hero Humpty Dumpty experiences some post-traumatic stress in this revisionist take on his classic poem - "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, / Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. / All the king's horses and all the king's men / Couldn't put Humpty together again" - refusing to carry on with his climbing hobby after a particularly nasty fall shatters his shell. Becoming something of a couch potato, he ignores his friend Dish (of the famous Dish and Spoon duo), and only leaves his house show more when a spider (being done with Miss Muffet for the time being) comes along and frightens him into running outdoors. Making his way toward the hills, Humpty discovers that one of the King's Horses has gotten stuck on a cliff, and suddenly finds the courage to climb again, coming to the rescue and proving that he is still the daring egg that everyone had thought him to be...

Chosen as one of our February selections over in The Picture-Book Club to which I belong, where our theme was "Fractured Nursery Rhymes," Humpty Dumpty Climbs Again is an entertaining examination of what happens after our egg hero takes his famous fall. I appreciated the way Dave Horowitz worked other nursery rhyme characters into his tale, and thought the cartoon-style artwork was well suited to the story, accentuating the humor in the text. I'll be curious to see how this compares to another revisionist take on Humpty's story, Jeanie Franz Ransom's What Really Happened to Humpty?: From the Files of a Hard-Boiled Detective, which was also chosen as a selection for February. show less