Dark Screams: Volume Five

by Kealan Patrick Burke, Mick Garris, Bentley Little, Del James, J. Kenner Narrated by Joe Barrett

Overview

"Everything You've Always Wanted" by Mick Garris: It was supposed to be the night of his life-a celebration of his one hit slasher flick. But the price of admission is higher than this has-been filmmaker ever could have imagined.



"The Land of Sunshine" by Kealan Patrick Burke: Although she was mute long before the affair that nearly wrecked their marriage, her silence has tortured her husband ever since. Now he will seek out what he has lost or be driven mad by remorse.



"Mechanical Gratitude" by Del James: Arnold loves his '68 Camaro almost as much as he loves his wife, and he's willing to do anything to protect them both, especially after hearing strange noises coming from his garage.



"The One and Only" by J. Kenner: When he was seven, Will Underwood's nanny told him she had the Sight. Years later, a broken heart sends him to New Orleans, but it's fate that leads him to Madame Darkling's Voodoo Emporium.




"The Playhouse" by Bentley Little: A real-estate agent is drawn into a children's playhouse behind an abandoned property she's trying to sell and finds herself strangely reluctant to leave.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

★ 08/18/2014
Idle reprises the structure and format of her Caldecott Honor–winning Flora and the Flamingo in this wordless wintry companion, which is every bit as graceful a performance for both Flora and her creator. A thick sheet of ice serves as the canvas for Flora’s skating performance with a penguin that has climbed up onto the ice; a cutaway view of the pale blue-violet water below shows a school of fish doing a dance of their own. Small glued-in flaps help create a sense of movement, and also explore the brief rift that forms between Flora and the penguin after the bird dives back below the ice in pursuit of a fish. Once again, Idle’s elegantly drafted scenes couldn’t be more polished, and the foldout sequence that brings this dance to a close feels like a real triumph. Ages 3–5. Agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (Sept.)

From the Publisher

"What a wonderful story it is, about the excitement of making new friends, soothing hurt feelings, and becoming friends again."—Cool Mom Picks"

A real triumph."—Publishers Weekly, starred review"

Rings with the real emotion of friendship found, lost, and found again... a charmer."—Booklist"

Readers will surely enjoy the lively and lovely performance of Flora and Penguin."—Flora and the Penguin"

It's clearly another winner."—Common Sense Media, 5-star review"

It's also, thus far, one of my very favorite picture books of all of 2014." —BookPage"

Funny and charming-a winning, worthy follow-up."—Kirkus Reviews

Children's Literature - Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Dancing Flora is back, this time joining a penguin on the ice. As in Flora and the Flamingo, the story is told with no words, but with action both across the double pages and under lifted flaps. Flora ventures out on the ice and puts on her skates as a penguin emerges through a hole and takes her hand. They glide this way and that, mirroring each action. But when the penguin dives back through the hole, Flora skates away annoyed. The penguin, however, is chasing a fish to give to Flora. She scorns it and tosses it back. The penguin is insulted. Flora takes off a skate and tries to catch the fish with the pompom on her laces. Pulling together, they catch the fish and skate off, friends again. The decoratively stylized illustrations are mainly in shades of blue on the white ice. Bright yellow accents on Flora’s hat and skates offer contrast, as do the yellow end pages. Be sure to note the contrasting jacket and cover. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz; Ages 3 to 7.

School Library Journal

★ 11/01/2014
PreS-K—Idle's bold and balletic Flora is back in another wordless adventure, this time infused with icy blue, to skate with a penguin. The simple story is told entirely in pictures—featuring only a few colors on a white background—that are eloquent and irresistible. As in Flora and the Flamingo (Chronicle, 2013), small page flaps advance the story and establish the relationship between the two well-defined characters. There a simple conflict and a satisfying resolution, made more dramatic with a glorious gatefold. Preschoolers will enjoy narrating the action while they flip through the pages of this beautiful book.—Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY

Kirkus Reviews

2014-08-06
The irrepressible Flora returns for an encore avian duet, this time on ice with a penguin.Similar in feel to Idle's Caldecott Honor book, Flora and the Flamingo (2013), this wordless picture book follows Flora as she dons her ice skates, spies an intriguing beak poking up through the ice and begins her balletic adventure. Bird and girl meet and greet, then glide, twirl and pirouette together on the ice. Their newfound harmony is disrupted when the penguin spies a fish and disappears rapidly through a hole in the ice, causing Flora to glide away in a sulk. But wait! He was not ignoring her, just bringing her a gift! Having no use for a fish, she casually flips it back into the water, much to the penguin's chagrin. Now both are in a huff, and Flora grumpily removes her skates. The dangling lace gives her an idea, and she creatively uses it as a fishing line. Penguin is appeased, and now both are engaged in common pursuits, fishing and dancing. Idle's restrained palette of icy blues and soft grays combined with fluid composition that always leads the eye to the next scene in the drama keep the wordless narrative effortlessly flowing along. Small double-sided flaps on some of the pages expand the visual vocabulary, and a subtle message about friendship and compromise is conveyed.Funny and charming—a winning, worthy follow-up. (Picture book. 3-6)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170657995
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	12/15/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged

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