by Ann Squire & illustrated by Jennifer DiRubbio ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1996
A compendium of backyard trivia that leaves out more questions than it answers. In chapters dealing with birds, bees, butterflies, bugs, moles, mice, cold-blooded creatures, and ``other weird wildlife,'' she satisfies the curiosity readers may have about birds' nests, why ducks preen their feathers, owl pellets, fireflies, and much more. But some of the creatures highlighted—fleas, ducks, cranes, owls, gulls, penguins, and rattlesnakes—are not exactly backyard wildlife. The information can be capricious or inadequate, e.g., much is made of birds' hearing, but Squire never explains just how they hear. In another example, she comments on pigeon nests, but never answers the question most children have about that bird—where are the baby pigeons? Overall the book is mildly interesting but hampered by a scattershot approach to an inherently fascinating subject. (b&w illustrations) (Nonfiction. 10+)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8027-8457-7
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1996
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by Ann Squire
by Ginny Rorby ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 26, 2015
Dolphin lovers will appreciate this look at our complicated relationship with these marine mammals.
Is dolphin-assisted therapy so beneficial to patients that it’s worth keeping a wild dolphin captive?
Twelve-year-old Lily has lived with her emotionally distant oncologist stepfather and a succession of nannies since her mother died in a car accident two years ago. Nannies leave because of the difficulty of caring for Adam, Lily’s severely autistic 4-year-old half brother. The newest, Suzanne, seems promising, but Lily is tired of feeling like a planet orbiting the sun Adam. When she meets blind Zoe, who will attend the same private middle school as Lily in the fall, Lily’s happy to have a friend. However, Zoe’s take on the plight of the captive dolphin, Nori, used in Adam’s therapy opens Lily’s eyes. She knows she must use her influence over her stepfather, who is consulting on Nori’s treatment for cancer (caused by an oil spill), to free the animal. Lily’s got several fine lines to walk, as she works to hold onto her new friend, convince her stepfather of the rightness of releasing Nori, and do what’s best for Adam. In her newest exploration of animal-human relationships, Rorby’s lonely, mature heroine faces tough but realistic situations. Siblings of children on the spectrum will identify with Lily. If the tale flirts with sentimentality and some of the characters are strident in their views, the whole never feels maudlin or didactic.
Dolphin lovers will appreciate this look at our complicated relationship with these marine mammals. (Fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-67605-2
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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by Ginny Rorby
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by Ginny Rorby
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by Ginny Rorby
by Joy Cowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1999
Bishop’s spectacular photographs of the tiny red-eyed tree frog defeat an incidental text from Cowley (Singing Down the Rain, 1997, etc.). The frog, only two inches long, is enormous in this title; it appears along with other nocturnal residents of the rain forests of Central America, including the iguana, ant, katydid, caterpillar, and moth. In a final section, Cowley explains how small the frog is and aspects of its life cycle. The main text, however, is an afterthought to dramatic events in the photos, e.g., “But the red-eyed tree frog has been asleep all day. It wakes up hungry. What will it eat? Here is an iguana. Frogs do not eat iguanas.” Accompanying an astonishing photograph of the tree frog leaping away from a boa snake are three lines (“The snake flicks its tongue. It tastes frog in the air. Look out, frog!”) that neither advance nor complement the action. The layout employs pale and deep green pages and typeface, and large jewel-like photographs in which green and red dominate. The combination of such visually sophisticated pages and simplistic captions make this a top-heavy, unsatisfying title. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-590-87175-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
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by Joy Cowley ; illustrated by Giselle Clarkson
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by Joy Cowley ; illustrated by Kimberly Andrews
BOOK REVIEW
by Hye-Eun Shin ; illustrated by Su-Bi Jeong ; edited by Joy Cowley
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