by Ann-Sofie Jeppson & translated by Frances Corry & illustrated by Catarina Kruusval ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 8, 2001
Jeppson (Here Comes Pontus, not reviewed) attempts to create a story as she educates young readers about horses, their equipment, and breeds. Told in a series of journal entries it comes from Pontus the pony’s point of view. This frisky young horse takes the reader into the pasture, where he begins his seasonal routine. Summer is coming to an end, and Pontus is feeling melancholy about his inevitable confinement. However, soon after, he’s brought inside the stable and the reader follows him through winter as he shares thoughts and feelings about his care. Jeppson places emphasis on the do’s and don’ts of horsemanship, but trying to mask the lesson behind the story fails to work here. The text is choppy and dry and the inconsistencies are obvious with the all-knowing horse that understands the terms pitch-black and cousin, but doesn’t know the words “hair” or “television.” Young readers interested in learning about horses and horseback riding could best use this piece as a beginner’s reference guide, but the story itself is lacking. Kruusval’s (By Geezers and Galoshes, p. 104, etc.) paintings give children a real view into a horse’s way of life. Her cartoon-like art easily grabs the attention of readers and works well with the corresponding definitions. However, although they are educational, definitions and illustrations of horseback riding equipment, breeds, markings, and colorings are randomly placed on pages in an arrangement that is less than pleasing to the eye. A weak story that could have been a great addition to the numerous facts collected within. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2001
ISBN: 91-29-65393-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: R&S/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2001
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by Tedd Arnold ; illustrated by Tedd Arnold ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2013
A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity.
Buzz and his buzzy buddy open a spinoff series of nonfiction early readers with an aquarium visit.
Buzz: “Like other fish, sharks breathe through gills.” Fly Guy: “GILLZZ.” Thus do the two pop-eyed cartoon tour guides squire readers past a plethora of cramped but carefully labeled color photos depicting dozens of kinds of sharks in watery settings, along with close-ups of skin, teeth and other anatomical features. In the bite-sized blocks of narrative text, challenging vocabulary words like “carnivores” and “luminescence” come with pronunciation guides and lucid in-context definitions. Despite all the flashes of dentifrice and references to prey and smelling blood in the water, there is no actual gore or chowing down on display. Sharks are “so cool!” proclaims Buzz at last, striding out of the gift shop. “I can’t wait for our next field trip!” (That will be Fly Guy Presents: Space, scheduled for September 2013.)
A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity. (Informational easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-50771-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
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by Steve Smallman & illustrated by Joëlle Dreidemy ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2007
A sweet iteration of the “Big Bad Wolf Mellows Out” theme. Here, an old wolf does some soul searching and then learns to like vegetable stew after a half-frozen lamb appears on his doorstep, falls asleep in his arms, then wakes to give him a kiss. “I can’t eat a lamb who needs me! I might get heartburn!” he concludes. Clad in striped leggings and a sleeveless pullover decorated with bands of evergreens, the wolf comes across as anything but dangerous, and the lamb looks like a human child in a fleecy overcoat. No dreams are likely to be disturbed by this book, but hardened members of the Oshkosh set might prefer the more credible predators and sense of threat in John Rocco’s Wolf! Wolf! (March 2007) or Delphine Perrot’s Big Bad Wolf and Me (2006). (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-58925-067-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2007
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