Purposeful, but the writing shows promise.
In this thinly disguised ecology lesson, a young turtle named Benjamin tries to save his friends in Turtle Pond from certain destruction.
All of the denizens of the pond fear the “Tulegs,” those “cold, cruel, and calculating” monsters that destroy turtles, and the “rumblers,” who are “large and loud” and “ma[k]e the earth shudder and the pond shake.” When Dot, a young spotted turtle, arrives with news that her pond has been destroyed by rumblers, and that Turtle Pond also lies in peril, it falls to Benjamin to save the tribe. Along the way, he’s hit by a rumbler, but rescued by a young tuleg, becoming her pet. When her family takes him to a picnic at a beautiful new pond, Benjamin realizes he has found the paradise he seeks for his tribe. Because the story is told entirely from the turtle’s point of view, it will work well as an educational device that teaches children kindness to animals. Additionally, the author effectively develops each of the secondary characters: Wibble, the cowardly turtle who has an obsession with candy wrappers; Hopper, the little frog who acts with consistent bravado; and Jeremiah, the wise old snapper. Although the prose is a bit choppy in the first few chapters, Riley finds her voice soon enough to weave plenty of suspense into her tale of courage.
Purposeful, but the writing shows promise. (Fiction. 6-12)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2006
ISBN: 0-595-39840-5
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Troubled teen meets totemic catalyst in Mikaelsen’s (Petey, 1998, etc.) earnest tribute to Native American spirituality. Fifteen-year-old Cole is cocky, embittered, and eaten up by anger at his abusive parents. After repeated skirmishes with the law, he finally faces jail time when he viciously beats a classmate. Cole’s parole officer offers him an alternative—Circle Justice, an innovative justice program based on Native traditions. Sentenced to a year on an uninhabited Arctic island under the supervision of Edwin, a Tlingit elder, Cole provokes an attack from a titanic white “Spirit Bear” while attempting escape. Although permanently crippled by the near-death experience, he is somehow allowed yet another stint on the island. Through Edwin’s patient tutoring, Cole gradually masters his rage, but realizes that he needs to help his former victims to complete his own healing. Mikaelsen paints a realistic portrait of an unlikable young punk, and if Cole’s turnaround is dramatic, it is also convincingly painful and slow. Alas, the rest of the characters are cardboard caricatures: the brutal, drunk father, the compassionate, perceptive parole officer, and the stoic and cryptic Native mentor. Much of the plot stretches credulity, from Cole’s survival to his repeated chances at rehabilitation to his victim being permitted to share his exile. Nonetheless, teens drawn by the brutality of Cole’s adventures, and piqued by Mikaelsen’s rather muscular mysticism, might absorb valuable lessons on anger management and personal responsibility. As melodramatic and well-meaning as the teens it targets. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2001
ISBN: 0-380-97744-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
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