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Miller, M. L. ListingsIf you cannot find what you want on this page, then please use our search feature to search all our listings. Click on Title to view full description
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THOSE BOTTLES!
Miller, M. L.
1994 14701 From The Critics Publishers Weekly Nostalgia for 1940s and '50s America shines through in this odd and otherwise murky tale. The Bottle family, a traditional unit of mother, father, three kids and a cat, are, quite literally, bottles. Trouble begins when the Bottles move to a town populated by humans. After setting up a glassworks to make bottles by hand (and, presumably, to convert users of drab ``crushable cans"), the Bottles find that their strange appearances bother the townsfolk. Their unpopularity continues until a flood imperils the town: the industrious Bottles become heroes by filling vessel after vessel until the water level drops. Despite his unique vision, Miller ( Dizzy from Fools ) fails to define the narrative logic. Root's ( The Araboolies of Liberty Street ) illustrations hold the most interest here. The artist paints in mustard yellow, piney green and pumpkin orange tones, bathing his spreads in a rich, sunset-like glow. This color choice proves particularly effective in scenes of glassblowing, and heightens the overall retro feel. Ultimately, however, only serious antiquers and devotees of vintage craftsmanship will be much charmed--and those categories tend to exclude children. Ages 4-8. (Apr.) School Library Journal PreS-Gr 2-A family of bottle people moves to a bottleless city of humans and are snubbed because they are different. But when a dam breaks, the Bottles come to the rescue: they distribute their glass creations to the neighbors, who fill them with flood water and stack them into a great, glittering monument. Rewarded with medals for saving the city, the family is finally accepted. Two-page, jewel-toned paintings cleverly contrast their bottle-shaped house, car, and bottled groceries with the can-shaped buildings, cars, and food containers of the humans. Pure fantasy that it is, the story has some flaws that children will quickly notice. Why, for example, can't the cat curl up if the other members of the family can move about? Colloquial expressions, e.g., the children ``had a hollow, left-out feeling, except at Halloween," will be wasted on a young audience. The theme of accepting those who are different (can one be prejudiced against a bottle?) is more creatively presented in books such as David Small's Paper John (Farrar, 1987). The idea of an inventive, clever glass container seems a bit empty- even for the most imaginative child.-Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH BookList It's not as if the Bottles don't try to be good neighbors, but they "are" different. Made of glass, the Bottle family just doesn't fit in. They seem pretty pushy, too. When they move to the land of people, they spend most of their time making bottle statues and mailboxes and birdbaths. Public sentiment is unanimous. "Those Bottles! Why can't they be like the rest of us? Why must they always go around acting like bottles?" But one stormy night, the Bottles redeem themselves. They prove to be heroes by trapping water in their numerous containers when a flood threatens to wash away the town. The story makes a fine allegory about prejudice, up to its conclusion. In real life, most of those labeled "different" by the neighbors don't have the opportunity to save the town. The story would have had more meaning if the neighbors came to value the Bottles for who they are, not what they did. If the message is mixed, the art, on the other hand, is terrific. The Bottle family (looking like those wax bottles with the syrupy liquid that are popular with kids) are fun to look at, and Root has quite a knack for making things--from cars to houses--seem as if they're made of shiny glass. The cover art, featuring variously colored Bottles happily sailing down the highway in their bottle-green glass car, says one thing to kids: Come along! Penguin Young Readers Group 0-399-22607-9 / 9780399226076
Hardcover Very Good Condition New York
Price:
15.91 USD
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