Steven Kroll (1941–2011)

When Elephant comes upon Hippo at his favorite bathing spot, he intimidates the smaller animal into leaving, setting off a chain reaction of jungle bullying. Hippo displaces Lion, Lion displaces Leopard, Leopard displaces Monkey. It only stops when Monkey goes to his mama, and receives some wise words about standing up for yourself, leading to a chain reaction in the other direction...

Recommended to me by the children's librarian at my public library, Jungle Bullies addresses an show more all-too-common childhood problem: dealing with bullying and social intimidation. Although I have difficulty believing that simply telling the bully that they're being mean and should share will work, in most cases, I did really appreciate the idea that both bullying and standing up to bullying can have ripple effects. For good or for ill, our actions can have a profound effect on the world around us, precisely because they have this ripple effect, setting off a chain of further actions. This is an important lessons to learn, so kudos to author Steven Kroll for highlighting it in his story. The accompanying artwork from Vincent Nguyen, although not exactly to my taste, is colorful and cute. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for stories about bullying, and the effect bullying has on those around us. show less

Santa is having a very bad night in this hilarious holiday picture book from author Steven Kroll and illustrator Tomie dePaola. Falling out of the sleigh and bumping his nose, forgetting his handkerchief and nose drops, landing in the ashes of the Sylvesters' fireplace, and generally causing chaos in their home—it's a night when nothing goes right. When a stowaway polar bear emerges, it seems that is the last straw. Fortunately, Gerald the elf also stowed away, and has been busy putting show more everything to rights...

Published in 1977, Santa's Crash-Bang Christmas is a picture book I had never heard of, despite being familiar with the work of both author and illustrator. Then, in my hunt this year for holiday tales from dePaola, I discovered it and requested it from my local library. How glad I am that I did, as it was an entertaining romp of a tale, full of humor and ultimately, heart. I found myself chuckling in a few places, as I read, and appreciated the visuals, which have that trademark dePaola style, but also feel a little more muted and vintage (in a good way). I liked the contrast between the sepia and gray-toned backgrounds, and the red of Santa, the white of the polar bear, and the light tan of Gerald. Recommended to anyone looking for humorous Santa stories, or vintage picture books from one or both of these creators. show less

Clayton the village mouse and Desmond the field mouse both fall in love with the same pumpkin, Clayton visiting it during the day to care for it, and Desmond at night. With their faithful ministrations, the pumpkin soon begins to grow to an enormous size, with both mice making their plans: one wants to win the town pumpkin contest, while the other dreams of creating the most magnificent jack-o-lantern ever. When the two eventually meet, they decide to work together to fulfill both of their show more ambitions...

The first of a number of seasonal picture books from author/illustrator team Steven Kroll and Jeni Bassett to feature the mice of Mouseville, The Biggest Pumpkin Ever pairs an engaging story of hard work and dreaming big with cute illustrations. I liked the fact that Clayton and Desmond discovering one another led, not to conflict, but to the two working together. That said, I did think it a little odd that Desmond followed the course of action he did, given that the narrative tells us that the pumpkin was in Clayton's garden. Surely it isn't reasonable for him to expect that it would be his, to make into a jack-o-lantern, when it always belonged to someone else? Leaving that aside, this was a sweet, gentle little tale for the Halloween season, and I would recommend it to picture book readers seeking such fare. show less

Forced to leave their home in Donegal when the potato blight wipes out their crop year after year, the McLean family make the long and arduous journey to America in this picture-book celebration of St. Patrick's Day, eventually settling in a small basement apartment in lower Manhattan. As Mr. McLean finds work on the docks and Mrs. McLean goes out as a maid to a wealthy family on Fifth Avenue, the children of the family begin to attend school, and to become acquainted with their neighbors, show more who are mostly Irish immigrants like themselves. Learning of the marvelous St. Patrick's Day parade that is held every March 17th, young Mary decides that she would like to participate, asking local grocer Mr. Finnegan if she can ride in his cart with him. His response - that she must give him a shamrock if she wants to ride in his cart - sends her on a months-long quest to find a three-leafed clover somewhere in snowy New York. Will the leprechaun she meets in City Hall Park be able to help her? Or will someone else, closer to home, step in...?

Although I'm somewhat dubious when it comes to a lot of the leprechaun and shamrock-centric fare that pops up at this time of year - genuine folkloric collections such as Bairbre McCarthy's The Keeper of the Crock of Gold: Irish Leprechaun Tales being an exception, of course - I picked Steven Kroll's picture-book up from my library's St. Patrick's Day display this past weekend anyway, mostly because I wanted to see what he would do with the immigrant-family story. I enjoyed Mary McLean and the St. Patrick's Day Parade for the most part, but (predictably) I could have lived without the entire subplot involving the leprechaun. Since the heartwarming conclusion of the tale, in which Mary's father finds her a shamrock, would have worked just as well if Mary had simply scoured the streets and parks of New York for the shamrock, without ever encountering the leprechaun, the inclusion of more fantastic elements felt like a distraction from the real story about the McLean family, and how they began to settle in to their new home. Others will perhaps feel differently, but all in all I think Janet Nolan's excellent picture-book, The St. Patrick's Day Shillelagh, is a better exploration of the Irish-American experience at this time of year. show less