Often regarded as the inspiration behind Indiana Jones, renowned dinosaur hunter Andrews marks an apt change of pace for Marrin, best known for rousing accounts of wars and generals. Working for New York’s American Museum of Natural History, Andrews first made his name collecting whales just before the WWI, then went on to organize an epochal series of expeditions into Mongolia, searching for—and finding in profusion—the remains of prehistoric creatures. Indulging in his fondness for lurid, attention-grabbing anecdotes, the author tucks a beheading, some gunplay, and a meal featuring boiled sheep’s eyes into his account of Andrew’s adventures, discoveries, family life, and opinions on various topics from hunting to women. Contemporary photos capture the rugged conditions under which Andrews and his companions labored, as well as some of their revolutionary findings; back matter includes a perfunctory list of books and Web sites. Andrew’s life does make a grand tale, though as it’s just been told with similar flourish for the same audience in Bausum’s and Andrews’s more heavily illustrated Dragon Bones and Dinosaur Eggs: A Photobiography of Explorer Roy Chapman Andrews (2000), this rendition is more an alternative than a must-buy. (Biography. 10-13)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-525-46743-2
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2002
Like its drought-stricken Florida swamp setting, there is a steady but sluggish flow to this folksy, philosophical debut that may lose less patient readers, but those who stick with it may hear echoes of both Wind in the Willows and The Jungle Book. Orphaned by Mr. Took the rattlesnake, mute little Ossie acquires a protector and mentor in Uncle Will, a huge, ancient gator from whose back he sees the swamp’s far reaches, meets its diverse, chatty residents, and hears reptilian dreams of centuries past. Eventually Ossie finds voice, friends, and even a sweetheart; meanwhile, however, the swamp’s usually reasonable community becomes more and more susceptible to the jeremiads of the stork Bubba, a self-proclaimed Prophet, who dubs Ossie “The One Who Was Saved” (shades of Harry Potter) and blames him for every misfortune. Driven away once Uncle Will dies, Ossie survives a rematch with Mr. Took, thanks to the very animals who had shunned him, then leads his rescuers to a hidden spring to wait out the drought. Despite a contrived climax, readers may enjoy Crocker’s low-key brand of humor and non-preachy philosophizing. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-399-23964-2
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
Despite some minor bobbles, young dinosaur fans will latch onto this heavily illustrated report like starving velociraptors at a picnic. The indefatigably enthusiastic Halls writes with two purposes in mind: to recount the discoveries and natures of dinosaur fossils that include not just bones, but remnants of “skin, hearts, muscles and goop-filled stomachs”—not to mention feathers and a variety of less durable tissues; and to introduce many of the paleontologists who have made, or are making, those discoveries. She highlights six finds in particular, but mentions many more, nearly all of which get at least one photo, and closes with enough references to relevant books, videos, DVDs, Web sites, and public “digs” to satisfy the most demanding dinophile. Spears supplements the photos with cartoon scenes of reconstructed specimens, and Carpenter contributes an essay on the importance of the just-discovered duckbill dubbed “Leonardo.” Though two photos are repeated and the portrait gallery of scientists is capped with a profile of eminent specialist Dr. Karen Chin, in which she’s labeled “a girl who loves digging up dinosaur doo doo,” this is definitely a must, as useful as it is entertaining. (Nonfiction. 10-13)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2003
ISBN: 1-58196-000-X
Page Count: 48
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2003
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