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Layton, Neal
6 Reviews
(3)
PS
With plans to build a grand house, a couple buys land on which a tree stands. But removing the tree would leave many animals homeless, so the couple (expecting their own child) builds a treehouse instead. The thoughtful fable could provoke discussion about homes, nature, and environmental responsibility. Perfectly suited to the ultra-spare text, cartoonlike pen and watercolor illustrations convey big emotions with few strokes.
Reviewer: Carolyn Shute
(3)
4-6
Some bullying (and hungry) humans of Cave Skool besiege the creatures of Mammoth Academy. Luckily, mammoth Arabella's festive art project, infused with "sparklebang" (i.e., gunpowder), saves the day. Readers will anticipate the explosive outcome when comically primitive people attempt to roast the prehistoric piñata. Layton's loose, scribbly sketches effectively illustrate the story, which Oscar and Arabella's fans will surely enjoy.
Reviewer: Bethany Templeton Klem
(3)
4-6
In this lighthearted twist on a school story, two underdog heroes, a woolly mammoth and a fox, at an elite Ice Age academy join forces to thwart comically primitive humans who have been secretly stealing the animals' food and planning a hunt. Effectively scribbly art supplements and sometimes replaces the main text, further pulling readers into this humorous tale.
Reviewer: Bethany Templeton Klem
(2)
K-3
In this off-the-wall book, woolly mammoths Oscar and Arabella love the Ice Age's long winter months, but suffer when summer rolls around. "There was only one solution. They would have to give each other a haircut!" No one will mistake this ditty for an informational book: the lighthearted tone is set right away and sustained throughout, and the unrestrained illustrations suit the story admirably.
Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2004
(4)
K-3
It's Sunday, and Steve, who considers school "really, really, really horrible," is depressed. Predictably on Monday morning, his friends' playground antics convince him that "maybe school [isn't] so bad after all!" This thin story is basically an excuse for Layton's funny, unkempt illustrations, which feature dialogue bubbles filled with cursive or craggy print.
Reviewer: Nell Beram
(2)
PS
Alien tourists hoping to see "a most unusual creature known as a 'human'" mistake a zoo for "the whole planet." Luckily, their handy Aliens' Guide to Earth helps them distinguish a tiger, penguins, and a giraffe from humans. Layton's lavish generosity with happy colors will provoke grins as wide as that of the toothy "human" our space friends finally photograph--a hairy, banana-eating creature.
Reviewer: Mary Burkey
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 1999
6 reviews
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