An ornamental alphabet book about the creation and endurance of planet Earth, full of reverberating symbols and images. A is for ark, the small green and blue planet drifting in a sea of space. Each subsequent letter highlights treasures of the Earth and the space ocean it floats in. A richness develops in the juxtaposition of ideas: N is for narwhal, which gave birth to the legend of the unicorn, but also for a fox’s nuzzle and “for the night and its shadows creeping.” Extinct animals are remembered, joy and jellybeans are celebrated, as are ice, languages, and the other planets. Every spread is created by one of eleven illustrators, among them Jane Ray and David Parkins, providing variety to the poetry within, and every illuminated letter glows like a painted jewel. A fine tribute. (Picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-439-07969-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A train load of wild and wacky animals gets so noisy that the engineer has to shout to get them to quiet down. The little black train picks up yaks, acrobats, a troupe of ducks, and stomping elephants as passengers. But when two mice that are in to fireworks climb aboard, the engineer threatens to stop the whole train. “ ‘Keep it down!’ yells Driver Zach. ‘You’re giving me a headache attack!’ “ Everyone quickly hushes up, and soon, “the only sound you hear, in fact,/is the sound of the wheels on the railroad track. Clickety clack, clickety clack.” The words bounce along to the rhythm of a train on its way, and the swell of the sound effects makes this a joy to read aloud. Spengler’s robust illustrations capture an antic cast of passengers, conveying the action as much through composition as color. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-670-87946-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1999
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION
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PLB 0-688-16259-2 Time is relative, as Griffith’s pleasingly droll story makes clear, especially when a cat, a dog, a turtle, and a couple gnats get together to compare longevity. The dog, Alex, has made a cake for his friend, Robbie, a boy turning ten who never appears in these pages. A cat notes that Robbie’s years equal about 70 of hers, while a turtle figures that the same number equals about 8 of his years, because he can live to be 100. Two gnats buzz in to check on the doings, and they can’t even begin to comprehend the very notion of ten years—“ ‘Well, they’re gnats,’ said the cat. ‘Ten years to a boy is one billion years to a gnat.’ “ As Alex tries to determine how many candles are needed for each new configuration, the cat sniffs the cake: “This seems to be made of dog biscuits,” and the higher mathematics are put on the back burner while some sheer tomfoolery comes to the fore. This is a delightful exploration of dry humor and number-juggling, accompanied by some elegantly funny artwork. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-16258-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS
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