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ALL THE WAY TO LHASA

Name: ALL THE WAY TO LHASA
Author: Barbara Helen Berger
ISBN: 0-399-23387-3

A TALE FROM TIBET

adapted by Barbara Helen Berger & illustrated by Barbara Helen Berger ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2002

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In a simple retelling of a Tibetan parable, two travelers journey across Tibet to Lhasa: one in haste on horseback and the other slowly plodding on foot accompanied by his yak. On the way, each traveler asks an old woman, “How far is it to Lhasa?”—and each time the old woman replies, “Very far.” The rider is told that he’ll never make it before night and the boy on foot is assured that he will reach Lhasa by nightfall, and he does, whereas the rider on horseback falls and fails. Berger’s (Angels on a Pin, 2000, etc.) familiar dreamlike style and characters are a likely pairing in creating a mystical atmosphere. The striking maroon borders frame and contrast the heavenly setting, echoing the color of the old woman’s robe. Double-spread acrylic, colored pencil, and gouache clouds, rushing torrents of water, and snow-covered mountains fill up and spill out from one page to the next. The landscape, the architecture, and inclusion of the flowers, prayer flags, stones with carved prayers, and Chupa (the traditional coat worn by the traveler on horseback) define place and culture. With otherwise such attention to detail, it is curious that the old woman is clothed in a manner (shawl over the shoulder) usually exclusive to ordained monks and male teachers, not lay people. Faintly reminiscent of the Tortoise and the Hare fable, the lack of interaction among the participants creates a sense of remoteness that is less than compelling, though it does reinforce the theme of a personal quest. Quietly inspiring. (Picture book/folktale. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002

ISBN: 0-399-23387-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Philomel

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2002

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THUNDER BUNNY
by Barbara Helen Berger & illustrated by Barbara Helen Berger

- BOOK REVIEW
ANGELS ON A PIN
by Barbara Helen Berger

- BOOK REVIEW
A LOT OF OTTERS
by Barbara Helen Berger & illustrated by Barbara Helen Berger

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PROFESSOR ASTRO CAT'S SPACE ROCKETS

From the Professor Astro Cat series

by Dominic Walliman ; illustrated by Ben Newman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 4, 2018

Energetic enough to carry younger rocketeers off the launch pad if not into a very high orbit.

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The bubble-helmeted feline explains what rockets do and the role they have played in sending people (and animals) into space.

Addressing a somewhat younger audience than in previous outings (Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers of Space, 2013, etc.), Astro Cat dispenses with all but a light shower of “factoroids” to describe how rockets work. A highly selective “History of Space Travel” follows—beginning with a crew of fruit flies sent aloft in 1947, later the dog Laika (her dismal fate left unmentioned), and the human Yuri Gagarin. Then it’s on to Apollo 11 in 1969; the space shuttles Discovery, Columbia, and Challenger (the fates of the latter two likewise elided); the promise of NASA’s next-gen Orion and the Space Launch System; and finally vague closing references to other rockets in the works for local tourism and, eventually, interstellar travel. In the illustrations the spacesuited professor, joined by a mouse and cat in similar dress, do little except float in space and point at things. Still, the art has a stylish retro look, and portraits of Sally Ride and Guion Bluford diversify an otherwise all-white, all-male astronaut corps posing heroically or riding blocky, geometric spacecraft across starry reaches.

Energetic enough to carry younger rocketeers off the launch pad if not into a very high orbit. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-911171-55-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Flying Eye Books

Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
PROFESSOR ASTRO CAT'S DEEP SEA VOYAGE
by Dominic Walliman ; illustrated by Ben Newman

- BOOK REVIEW
ASTRO KITTENS
by Dominic Walliman ; illustrated by Ben Newman

- BOOK REVIEW
PROFESSOR ASTRO CAT'S HUMAN BODY ODYSSEY
by Dominic Walliman & Ben Newman ; illustrated by Ben Newman

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THE PIRATE OF KINDERGARTEN

by George Ella Lyon & illustrated by Lynne Avril ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 22, 2010

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Ginny loves reading circle, but getting there is a bit of a challenge because only half the chairs are real. Figuring out which words to read is tough, too. See, “Ginny’s eyes [play] tricks”—she’s got double vision and doesn’t realize that’s unusual. “We read it just once,” says her teacher, and, “Don’t squint.” Lyon’s simple, declarative text effortlessly puts readers into Ginny’s head, and Avril’s whimsical mixed-media illustrations give them her eyes, overlaying one image slightly off its original in a satisfyingly disorienting fashion. A vision test at school is revelatory: “Do you know,” the nurse asks gently, “that most people see only one?” This small episode, taken from the author’s own experience, is much more than bibliotherapy, even though it covers Ginny’s remedial eye patch (hence the title). In single or double vision, Ginny simply glows. (Picture book. 4-8)