A short novella of the coming-to-terms—rather than coming-of-age—variety. The narrator's grandmother dies in the first chapter and leaves behind a secret: clues for a treasure hunt to be held the following summer during the annual lakeside family reunion. Then come uneasy scenes of the family at the lake without Grandma, the hunt and subsequent discovery of her treasures: trees she planted before dying, one for each of seven grandchildren. The writing is careful, infrequently invoking poetic images and occasionally falling prey to sentimentality. Most of the text consists of unlikely, deliberately double-edged conversations among the children. They can't express their feelings and don't know what to say; Willner-Pardo (who teamed with Krudop previously on What I'll Remember When I Am a Grownup, 1994) tries to capture their natural inarticulateness in dialogue, with the unintended result of leaving readers in her wake. The restrained, blurry light of the oil paintings looks precisely as if ``someone had forgotten to dust the sun'' and are wholly evocative of the text's brooding mood. (Fiction. 6-10)
Pub Date: Feb. 20, 1996
ISBN: 0-395-68190-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
At ``Step 2'' in the useful ``Step into Reading'' series: an admirably clear, well-balanced presentation that centers on wolves' habits and pack structure. Milton also addresses their endangered status, as well as their place in fantasy, folklore, and the popular imagination. Attractive realistic watercolors on almost every page. Top-notch: concise, but remarkably extensive in its coverage. A real bargain. (Nonfiction/Easy reader. 6-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-679-91052-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
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