BIRDS OF ANTARCTICA: The Ad‚lie Penguin; BIRDS OF ANTARCTICA: The Wandering Albatross

by Jennifer Owings Dewey ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 1989

Dewey couples dramatic, softly colored illustrations with a vivid but difficult poetic text to describe the challenging life of these polar sea birds. ""Bustling, jostling, colliding, bumping each other, beating off interference with flippers raised, penguins cross and recross rough ground"" is a typical sentence that will be daunting for all but the most proficient younger readers suggested by the format. Sometimes the style verges on bombastic: ""The huge bird falters, and his faltering is fatal. Black seas reach up to claim him, to consume him, to swallow him in cold, wet, final darkness."" Still, the wealth of detail and thoughtful observations will intrigue advanced readers, while younger browsers will enjoy the illustrations. Brief glossaries define some specialized words. A map of Antarctica and a close-up map of the Antarctic Peninsula are provided on the endpapers. Attractive, though the publisher's suggested age of six to ten is probably inappropriate.

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1989

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1989

Categories: CHILDREN'S