From Publishers Weekly
Employing the same tenderness and fanciful sense of wonder that characterized her Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm and Raising Dragons, Nolen delivers another picture book with a far-out premise and plenty of heart. A series of letters and postcards tells the tale. Third-grader Mortimer Henryson has successfully petitioned his parents and his science teacher, Mr. Lester, to allow him to bring the class plant, Plantcilia (nicknamed "Plantzilla" by the students), home over summer vacation. But Mortimer's parents worry when Plantzilla starts developing an appetite for meat, growing wildly and moving on its own and just what has become of Mrs. Henryson's prize-winning Chihuahua? It seems the more care and attention that Mortimer pays his favorite bit of flora, the more human-like Plantzilla becomes. As the transformation continues, the sprawling, blooming plant becomes literally part of the family. The book's distinctive design allows each character his or her (or its) own hand-lettered or typewritten form of expression, a playful touch (although newly independent readers may have trouble with Mrs. Henryson's cursive). Catrow's (Cinderella Skeleton) exuberant vine of a plant part Venus's-flytrap, part aloe vera and part whimsy creeps and curls from spread to spread, like an exotic jungle creature, and all of the humans look eccentric, too. His renderings of Plantzilla's high jinks, such as forming a two-man hockey team to play against Mortimer, compound the nutty fun. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-At the end of the school year, Mortimer takes a plant home from his third-grade classroom. Throughout the summer, Plantzilla continues to grow and Mortimer continues to love and nurture it. Strange things ensue. His quiet, boring, well-ordered household, complete with well-mannered cat and prize-winning Chihuahua, is totally disrupted: the plant starts to grow tentacles and to eat meat (the dog disappears) and perform all sorts of amazing feats. The boy's parents begin to worry, but the protagonist is delighted with his clever plant. The text is all in the form of letters-from Mortimer to his teacher describing the progress of his plant, from Mortimer's mother to Mr. Lester complaining about it, and from Mr. Lester to each of them. Catrow's watercolor-and-pencil illustrations spill across the pages, creating a marvelous sort of ubiquitous vine with tendrils curling all around, each one doing something different. The dog, cat, and several squirrels romp in its branches, and Mortimer dances and plays with his friend, who eventually becomes almost human and very benevolent. This humorous story may be shared with a group but will be best savored by individual readers who will have fun absorbing the wildly imaginative illustrations close up.
Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LACopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
