More flash than substance, this striking oversize book gives brief information on recycling and conservation and provides step-by-step pictorial directions for simple air- and water- pollution experiments that, unfortunately, often fail to demonstrate their hypotheses. A seven-day study of air pollution, for example, appears to show that pollution decreases with the length of exposure—the opposite of the author's intent. In an experiment on ``acid rain,'' three plants are watered with different vinegar solutions; after five days the one given the ``stronger acid'' [sic] is dead. Conclusion: ``Acid rain has the same effect on plants as water and vinegar mixed together, but it is weaker and works more slowly''—but the experiment hasn't shown either that rain is acidic or that the weaker solutions are harmful. A conservation kit in the eye-catching color photos exhibits little care for the environment in its use of highly colored plastics. It's never too soon to learn about conservation, but young environmentalists will do better to look elsewhere for ideas on how to save the earth. (Nonfiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-679-81780-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1991
After 12-year-old Sarah's father dies at the turn of the century, her mother decides to send one of her four children from Ukraine to America. Initially this is to be the eldest, Hannah, but after her passport is purchased and the tickets arrive from Uncle Benjamin in New York their mother had a change of heart: Sarah will go instead, and—though Hannah is devastated and Sarah frightened—their mother prevails. The narrative recounts Sarah's journey by train and steamship, her fear that the fact that she's traveling on her sister's passport will be discovered, and her lonely wait on Ellis Island until her uncle comes. Useful, though not deep, a story that offers insights into the immigrant experience; readers will be interested to learn that it is based on the author's mother's experiences. Cogancherry contributes appealing characterizations and a strong sense of place in her carefully modeled, full-page b&w drawings. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-8075-7237-3
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
A 1932 Washington, D.C., demonstration by WW I vets hoping to collect a promised bonus is the basis for a novel about how nine-year-old Jimmy Watkins joins his unemployed father in the effort. At first, it's an adventure and escape from growing responsibilities; but as Jimmy settles into the hobo camp where the marchers await President Hoover's decision, he becomes aware of the hunger and hopelessness around him and is moved to acts of kindness. When Congress votes to defer the bonus until 1945 (why isn't explained), the squatters are routed and Camp Marks is burned by troops. In a dramatic but unrealistic scene, Jimmy calms the panicky crowd and leads it, Pied Piper-style, out of the camp by playing his harmonica. Though pedantically written, the story is packed with authentic details extended in an afterword describing Roosevelt's different response to the next bonus march. Ethereal watercolors elevate the text but reinforce the romanticized presentation rather than depicting the time's true squalor. Nevertheless, a serviceable addition. (Fiction. 8- 10)
Pub Date: April 5, 1994
ISBN: 0-87614-786-4
Page Count: 72
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1994
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