The Lapsnatcher - Hardcover

Bruce Coville

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0816742332 ISBN 13: 9780816742332

Publisher: Troll Communications Llc, 1997

Synopsis

After he talks with an adult who was once a lapsnatcher, Jacob begins to feel differently about his new baby sister

About this title

From School Library Journal:

PreSchool-K. Jacob finds that being a brother is not all it's cracked up to be?especially when the new baby is a lapsnatcher. So what's a big brother to do? Mail his sister to Alaska? Put her out with the garbage? Send her back to the diaper service? Fortunately, this boy is as reasonable as he is inventive. With some kindly advice from the mailman, the garbage man, and the diaper lady (and a little lap time with his mom), he gets some perspective on babyhood?his own as well as his sister's?and concludes, "I guess maybe we can keep that lapsnatcher." Moss's pen-and-watercolor drawings echo the warmth and affection of the narrative. However, Jane Cutler's Darcy and Gran Don't Like Babies (Scholastic, 1993) makes the same point with considerably more flair. By comparison, Coville's effort seems bland and predictable. The introduction of a new sibling is a common situation, and there is room for many an approach; but whereas Darcy is likely to be clamored for again and again, The Lapsnatcher is more apt to be read and enjoyed once, and then forgotten.?Marcia Hupp, Mamaroneck Public Library, NY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

Jacob has a new baby sister and isn't very happy about the situation. The adults--mother, father, grandmother--reassure him that they love him as much as ever, but it doesn't feel that way. No one has time to play with him, and his mother's lap is always occupied. Jacob asks the postman to mail the baby to Alaska; he invites the garbage man to take her to the dump; and then sits with the diaper-service deliverywoman as she explains that she was once a lapsnatcher. Jacob starts to gain some perspective. The final resolution is nice: Jacob spends time with his mother and listens to her reminisce about him as a baby. Coville (adapt., William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1996, etc.) forces the turning point in this stiffly illustrated, undistinguished offering. The topic has been covered exhaustively and better--e.g., in Clara Vulliamy's Ellen and the Penguin and the New Baby (1996) and, more recently, in Clare Jarrett's Catherine and the Lion (1997). (Picture book. 3-8) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Troll Communications Llc
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0816742332
• ISBN 13: 9780816742332
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32