PLB 0-688-13383-5 In the heightened language and measured cadence of a classic hero’s tale, Mayer (Turandot, 1995, etc.) relates the story of the winged horse Pegasus and the brave Bellerophon. The fair young man is sent to subdue the monster Chimera, who devours people and lays waste to the lands. He learns he can only hope to defeat the monster if he can convince the magical flying horse to carry him into battle. Bellerophon meets Pegasus at a sacred spring, and the goddess Athena reminds him in a dream that the bridle of trust will hold him and his steed together as equals. Defeating the Chimera in a wild battle, he marries a princess and rules with her, but seeks Pegasus throughout his life. Craft’s oil on watercolor paintings are splendid foils for this text. She uses chiaroscuro to powerful effect, and every detail of her work—the flowers by a spring, a red cloak unfurled against a blue sky, moonlight on a tiger’s back—is beautifully rendered. She provides echoes of well-known paintings in her illustrations, and each has a border of motifs taken from ancient goldwork. Pegasus is a true vision—Craft revivifies the now-debased winged-horse image—and the Chimera is quite terrifying. Children hungry for heroes will find this robust fare for their imaginations. (Picture book/folklore. 6-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-688-13382-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Keena Ford’s second-grade class is taking a field trip to the United States Capitol. This good-hearted girl works hard to behave, but her impulsive decisions have a way of backfiring, no matter how hard she tries to do the right thing. In this second book in a series, Keena cuts off one of her braids and later causes a congressman to fall down the stairs. The first-person journal format is a stretch—most second graders can barely write, let alone tell every detail of three days of her life. Children will wonder how Keena can cut one of her “two thick braids” all the way off by pretend-snipping in the air. They will be further confused because the cover art clearly shows Keena with a completely different hairdo on the field trip than the one described. Though a strong African-American heroine is most welcome in chapter books and Keena and her family are likable and realistic, this series needs more polish before Keena writes about her next month in school. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: July 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3264-3
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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