Review by Booklist Review
There are more than 40 books about the bunny Max and his rivalry with his big sister, Ruby. Here, once again, the little rebel is ignored and belittled, until he triumphs in the end, often with the support of Grandma. In one scenario, Max and Ruby beg for bedtime stories, and Grandma tells them three stories about themselves. In another, Ruby and her friend Louise play restaurant, and Max refuses their offer to be dishwasher. Instead, he whips up a terrific dessert--chocolate mousse made with shampoo and potting soil--much to Grandma's delight. Max also triumphs over the authority-figure lifeguard at the lake, proving that a small kid can perform a heroic rescue. The detailed pictures, composed of ink, watercolor, colored pencil, and collage, include lots of white space that highlights the siblings' stand-offs, and it is the moments of meanness and rebellion that make the story's snuggly conclusion so cozy.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Like many children, Max and Ruby want to hear story after story before bed, and Grandma complies in this compilation of three adventures. Grandma tells of the time Ruby and her friend Louise opened Cafe Ruby-Lou; the day Max saved Louise's sister Lily's doll from drowning; and Max and Lily's trip to playschool in a toy airplane, each of which she claims will be "the last story." Brightly illustrated and filled with her customary cheer, Wells's latest Max and Ruby book should entice both old and new fans of these lively siblings, and leave them hoping that this isn't really "the end of the end." Ages 4-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-When Grandma reads a bedtime story to her grandchildren, one story morphs into three dynamic tales, each starring these irresistible rabbit siblings. The ever-helpful, yet exasperating Max tries to assert his independence with humorous results. In "Ruby's Restaurant," he tries desperately to include himself in the imaginative dinner his sister and her friend prepare, though he is halted at every opportunity. Max's persistence reveals a child-centered perspective as he concocts a positively gross creation of chocolate mousse for dessert (combining dirt, shampoo, and bird-seed shavings) to his accepting grandmother's loving satisfaction. Max's heroism shines in "Splish Splash" when he saves his friend Lily's dolly from the lake's disastrous depths and reaps a refreshing reward, a savory cherry-lemon-lime rainbow pop. In "Max Goes to School," Max and Lily refuse to attend playschool and sit idly in their toy airplane, much to their older sisters' dismay. With the girls lending a helping hand, Max and his friend experience the best of both worlds-school in their airplane. Punchy dialogue serves this inviting and oversized layout well; light pastel spreads suit each whimsical story line and its sweetly realized conclusion. A solid selection particularly for those already enamored by this lovable bunny duo.-Meg Smith, Cumberland County Public Library, Fayetteville, NC (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Grandma tells three stories to ease Max and Ruby into bedtime, and readers familiar with the bunny siblings from previous appearances won't be terribly shocked that each revolves around Max's different-drummer personality. In the first, for instance, Ruby and her friend Louise open a (pretend) restaurant where they are exalted chef and waitress and Max is the lowly dishwasher ("Everybody has to start somewhere, Max") and hat-check boy; unsurprisingly, he rejects those roles and finds a way to turn "Cafe Ruby-Lou" into "Cafe Max." Master picture book creator Wells makes efficient, child-pleasing use of her allotted space, jumping into each story with little preamble and letting the first page of each serve multiple purposes: as title page ("Splish Splash!"), introduction ("'Tell about Max going swimming, please!' said Ruby. 'All right,' said Grandma. 'But this is the last story. Then it's lights out!'"), and even plot propulsion (as the evening progresses and bedtime looms, the setting shifts from living room to staircase to bedroom). The art is vintage Wells: cheerful, cleanly composed, and nicely varied in size and pace, with warm colors and eye-pleasing patterns as enhancements. Sleep tight, Max and Ruby! No doubt Grandma will have more stories in the morning. martha v. parravano (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
This short-story collection from the steady hand of Wells displays the mischievous sweetness of the Max and Ruby stories with their candy-heart coloring, but each could have used a few more pages to bring the stories fully around. The first of the three bedtime stories delivered by Grandma finds Max getting handed, as is his destiny, the raw end of the stick from Ruby when she and her friend Louise open a caf: Max gets to be the dishwasher. Max's ascent to chefdom, by associating chocolate mousse with baby shampoo, will fly over lots of little heads. In the second tale, Max, who can't swim, jumps into the lakewith safety tube, yesto rescue a friend's doll. Fear may give sudden instincts of skill, but Max doesn't look wracked by fear, just his standard willfulness. The final story has Max refusing to get out of his airplane to go to playschool, so he just goes to school in the plane. Fun as the stories may be, they miss the inspired twists that make Max such an artful dodger. (Picture book. 3-5)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
