“Inside the dark cave, the huge bear reared up on its hind legs and snarled, revealing long, pointed teeth . . . ” So says the blurb, but in the text, the author states: “ . . . experts have concluded that for all their massive bodies, long claws, and pointed canine teeth . . . cave bears were mostly plant-eaters.” Readers lured into this title by the ferocious cover illustration may come to a screeching halt when they catch sight of the densely packed text inside. In some cases, this text is almost impossible to read, overwhelmed by the background art. The author describes conditions on earth before, during, and after the last Ice Age, and explores the evolution of bears from the tiny squirrel-like Miacis that lived 30-40 million years ago, to the modern polar bear, American black bear, and the giant panda. In between, she tries to make the subject come alive, with mini-dramas about the ancient cave bear and early humans that may have feared, hunted, and revered them. More questions than answers here, and the organization is confusing. Fussy format makes ideas hard to follow. For example, some text appears on torn tan paper, some text appears superimposed on cave paintings, some is interrupted with odd boxes, like “Into the Dragon’s Lair,” which recounts tales of dragons that may actually be bones of the cave bear. Includes a brief glossary, index, further reading, and picture credits. This large-size potboiler is strictly marginal. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-375-81329-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2002
Poor Miss Rosemary. Inspired by the example of Gertrude, The Cow Who Wouldn’t Come Down (1993), George the pig is trying to fly, play music, and drive. The results are uniformly disastrous: “It’s a known fact pigs don’t drive,” scolds Miss Rosemary after the inevitable crash. The animals are as expressive as the people in Johnson’s tidy, clean-lined country scenes; George’s cheery confidence comes through as clearly as the local sheriff’s irritation does. At last Miss Rosemary and Gertrude put their heads together, drawing up a successful scheme to get George to behave like a perfect pig—just as Magnolia the goose decides to burst into oinks. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-531-30136-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
Feeling the need to stretch her wings, young Jane leaves her feline Overlook Farm family to fly back to the city where she was born. There she discovers the truth of her sister Thelma’s warning that “being different is difficult and sometimes very dangerous,” when a man named Poppa treats her like royalty, but traps her by closing the window. As in the three previous Catwings books (Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings, 1994, etc.), Le Guin’s winged creatures are more cat than bird in behavior and outlook: Jane’s sinuous grace comes through clearly in Schindler’s small, precise paintings. Patiently awaiting her chance, Jane at last slips out an open door, to settle down comfortably with her doting mother, in the apartment of gray-haired Sarah, a different sort of human who, instead of closing the window, opens it wider. Wanderlust, leaving home, the meaning of freedom—these are big themes for such a small book, but the author handles them with the ease of long practice, and the illustrations are just the right mix of the exotic and the familiar. (Fiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-531-30133-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
SEEN & HEARD
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