Description:
“In the bare bones beginning, Armadillo’s ears were tall as a jack rabbit’s and wide as a steer’s horns.” With such wonderful ears, Armadillo loved nothing better than spying on other animals and telling tales about what he heard. Then Armadillo gets an earful all his very own.
This humorous tale is a lyrical lesson in just how fast stretching the truth is likely to cause one humongous armadillo ruckus. As Armadillo peeps and creeps, children will giggle, and also learn a basic lesson in thoughtfulness and respect.
Mudville is a dream come true for Shoeshine Whittaker. “The streets were muddy, the wooden sidewalks were cruddy, the houses were dusty, and people’s shoes were crusty.” Shoeshine knows he has FINALLY hit pay dirt.
Problem is, the people of Mudville are darn hard to please. They think the guarantee of a top-notch shoeshine means their shoes will stay clean for life!
A muddy mob isn’t a pretty sight, but luckily, Shoeshine is as clever as he is honest. Using good old American ingenuity, he comes up with a plan that saves his skin, makes some money, and leaves behind an entire town of satisfied customers. The funny twist will keep young readers laughing!
Shoeshine waved his top hat with a flourish, and bowed. "Shoeshine's the name, and shoeshine's the game. I figure I've come in just the nick of time." Sheriff Blackstone narrowed his eyes. "What in thunderation are you taking about? Nick of time for what?"
Shoeshine pointed to the sheriffs boots. "In the nick of time to stop those from dry rot. You got to take care of your boots, Sheriff, or they're like to fall apart on you. Have a seat and I'll show you what I mean".
Reviews
“The colorful Texas-style narration sets the tone nicely. Goto’s paintings are bold and imposing and capture the action with unusual perspectives.”
SLJ, 1999
It’s muddy, and the people’s shoes are cruddy, in Mudville, a state of affairs that suits Shoeshine Whittaker, itinerant buffer of footwear, just fine. His wagon rolls into the frontier town early one morning, he sets up his guaranteed-shine shop, and by evening he’s a richer man, with a whole town of spit-polished beauty in his wake. The next morning he is rudely awakened by the sheriff; the citizenry’s shoes are no longer as “shiny as a mail-order mirror.” Shoeshine points out that he didn’t guarantee the shoes would stay sparkling, but must do some fast-thinking to keep the mob at bay. He puts his rags to the ultimate test, polishing up the whole town so as to keep his guarantee good; he dazzles the townsfolk into a state of eyestrain, headaches, and a new wish for Shoe shine’s hide. When he devises a shine-duller, the good old mud of Moville, all returns to normal. Satisfaction guaranteed is a notion that Ketteman plays with to good comic effect. Goto’s artwork lights a fire under the story’s action, with mock high drama and midst-of-the-doings perspectives.
1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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