THE PRINCE OF IRELAND AND THE THREE MAGIC STALLIONS

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THE PRINCE OF IRELAND AND THE THREE MAGIC STALLIONS

Name: THE PRINCE OF IRELAND AND THE THREE MAGIC STALLIONS
Author: Bryce Milligan
ISBN: 0-8234-1573-2

adapted by Bryce Milligan & illustrated by Preston McDaniels ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 15, 2003

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A stepmother’s endeavor to give a kingdom to her own sons sends the real heir on a quest that offers another story. His stepmother lays a geis, a deadly spell, upon the eldest prince of Ireland to not sleep two nights under the same roof nor eat two meals from the same fire until he has brought her the three magic stallions that the young giant Sean O’Donal keeps at the edge of the western world. Before beginning his quest, the prince lays a geis of his own on the queen: she must stand before the high cross with a sheaf of oats in the one hand and a needle in the other and eat nothing but what comes from the sheaf of oats and passes through the eye of the needle until he returns. He and his two stepbrothers, friends that they are, set out together. They come upon the giant’s sisters and hide themselves in their bundles. This gets them into the horse barn, but one of the stallions tells him that he can only go with him if the giant allows it. The prince summons the giant, but soon finds himself and the two stepsons hung from the rafters, roasting over a fire. He bargains with the giant to tell a story of a fix that was worse than this one. The three sit by the fire and the prince proceeds to tell of his rescue of a baby giant from a fierce giant; the babe proves to be none other than the giant himself. The grateful giant sends him off with the stallions and he returns home triumphant. The lilt of the language makes this fun to read, but the pastel illustrations, despite clever line and lively scenes, seem almost washed out and lack the strength of the adventure. For tellers, then, not readers. (author’s source notes) (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)

Pub Date: March 15, 2003

ISBN: 0-8234-1573-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Holiday House

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2003

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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THE DOG THAT DUG FOR DINOSAURS

by Shirley Redmond & illustrated by Simon Sullivan ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2004

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This easy reader for children reading at the fluency level recounts the story of a girl named Mary Ann Anning and her dog, Tray. They lived on the coast of England in the early 1800s, although the time frame is given only as “a long, long time ago.” Mary Ann and Tray became famous for their discoveries of fossils, including dinosaur bones. They discovered the first pterodactyl found in England, and the name was assigned to their fossil. The story focuses a little too much on the dog, and the title misses a great opportunity to completely acknowledge a girl accomplishing something important in the scientific world, especially in a much earlier era and without formal training or education. Despite this drawback, both Mary Ann and Tray are appealing characters and the discovery of the fossils and subsequent notice from scientists, collectors, and even royalty is appealing and well written. Sullivan’s illustrations provide intriguing period details in costumes, tools, and buildings, as well as a clever front endpaper of fossil-strewn ground covered with muddy paw prints. (Easy reader. 6-8)

Pub Date: July 1, 2004

ISBN: 0-689-85708-X

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Aladdin

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2004

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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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)