Another outstanding health-related title by the author of I’m Tougher Than Asthma (not reviewed). Here the author explores the daily routines and challenges of three appealing school-age children with cerebral palsy. Emily, Nic, and Tanner, ach speak with a clear, personal voice. Engaging color photographs and the concise text capture the courage and a positive spirit of each of the children “working hard at simple things.” The book begins with an introduction written by Dr. Rebecca Campbell, who describes the three most common types of CP: spasticity (extreme stiffness of muscles and tendons); choreoathetosis (uncontrolled flinging) and hypotonia (floppiness)—and discusses current research on the causes and management of cerebral palsy. Sources of information are provided, including organizations, Web sites, magazines, and books. Emily has the most common type of CP, stiffness of tendons and muscles. As her father helps her exercise, she growls, “Sassafras!” “Rhubarb!” It hurts to stretch, but Emily says it helps her move better. Other photographs show her with her physical therapist, at play with her sister, and greeting friends at school. Nic spends most of his time in a wheelchair. He is shown practicing simple words with his speech therapist, communicating through his laptop computer, riding the school bus, bowling from his wheelchair, and struggling with his walker. Tanner, the least affected by CP, has a slight limp and weakness in one arm. It doesn't stop him from sharing in class or playing football with his brother. Emily concludes with a message to all kids: “Sometimes people are scared or shy because we move or talk funny. But you don't have to be. We like the same things you like.” An important book for sharing. (Nonfiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-8075-7637-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2000
Whose Nose? (16pp.; $7.95; Sept.; 0-316-75933-3): “Whose nose?” is the question appearing on the lefthand page, while on the right a nose is on display, with its owner hidden by a flap. Some of the noses, rendered in super-saturated colors, are a snap to identify, e.g., the pig’s snout is an early give-away, which will encourage children. The rhino’s nose, later on, isn’t so easy. The mouse’s nose and dog’s nose share features, so readers will want to really look at the animals. A handsome, participatory, and potentially thought-provoking early natural history. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-316-75933-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
Accompanied by illustrations fittingly charged with movement, minimal couplets tell the story of how a day’s-worth of goods are conveyed to their various destinations. After the stacking of newspapers, the news vans push off into the pre-dawn, while Suen (Baby Born, 1998, etc.) works other deliveries into the picture as the day progresses: canned goods, boxes, flowers. The text never exceeds 10 words per page, and is gauged to the youngest listener: “On its way,/a new day,” and “Wheels and wings/carry many things.” Larger distribution networks are developed—highway arteries, flyways, rail lines, and shipping lanes—until Suen closes the circle with the piping of oil into the city. Zahares elegantly links every pastel-rich illustration to the next, back and forth through space and time and perspectives, until readers are once again at the morning gas pump—the end of the line for the city’s petroleum web—with the newspaper delivery man and the sun just cracking the horizon. Both text and art have a pleasing circularity that corrals the rhythms of the day so that they can be appreciated anew. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-670-88455-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
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