The Fradins cover well-traveled territory here in describing the causes of volcanoes and several of the better known eruptions—but they add an unusual slant by interviewing 20 scientists and eyewitnesses, tucking in brief comments from each. The accompanying photos aren’t all repeats either. Added to the familiar scenes of lava flows down Kilauea, an aerial view of Santorini and Mount St. Helens’s collapse are arresting shots of a car—and a town in Iceland—nearly buried in ash, massive lightning strikes in the cloud over Surtsey and an Indonesian child wearing a homemade loose-leaf paper mask after the 2006 eruption of Mount Merapi. Young readers will get a good sense of the awesome scale of a volcanic eruption, as well as a dose of basic background information. (maps, glossary, multimedia resource lists) (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-7922-5376-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
Miranda’s book counts the monsters gathering at a birthday party, while a simple rhyming text keeps the tally and surveys the action: “Seven starved monsters are licking the dishes./Eight blow out candles and make birthday wishes.” The counting proceeds to ten, then by tens to fifty, then gradually returns to one, which makes the monster’s mother, a purple pin-headed octopus, very happy. The book is surprisingly effective due to Powell’s artwork; the color has texture and density, as if it were poured onto the page, but the real attention-getter is the singularity of every monster attendee. They are highly individual and, therefore, eminently countable. As the numbers start crawling upward, it is both fun and a challenge to try to recognize monsters who have appeared in previous pages, or to attempt to stay focused when counting the swirling or bunched creatures. The story has glints of humor, and in combination with the illustrations is a grand addition to the counting shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201835-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
The Pumpkin Book (32 pp.; $16.95; Sept. 15; 0-8234-1465-5): From seed to vine and blossom to table, Gibbons traces the growth cycle of everyone’s favorite autumn symbol—the pumpkin. Meticulous drawings detail the transformation of tiny seeds to the colorful gourds that appear at roadside stands and stores in the fall. Directions for planting a pumpkin patch, carving a jack-o’-lantern, and drying the seeds give young gardeners the instructions they need to grow and enjoy their own golden globes. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 1999
ISBN: 0-8234-1465-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
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