An elegant and informative book about the art of woodworking, the varieties of wood, and their traditional uses. Falla's detailed, historically accurate illustrations show busy woodworkers in various settings—in interiors and exteriors, from the 14th to the 19th centuries, from Europe to China and the U.S.—in scenes of the finished products in use. Each of these is tastefully framed with the type of wood depicted in it. The entire assemblage— picture and ornate frame—is photographed; the result is a series of icon-like compositions, each one devoted to a particular type of wood and its function. The rhymes about each type of wood—yew for longbows, maple and spruce for lutes and violins, beach for chairs, teak for decks of ship—that are printed beneath each frame are rather mediocre, but the detailed explanatory notes at the end of the book are a pleasure to read. These are full of historical information and descriptions of how the objects in the pictures are made. An original conception, masterfully realized. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-395-72034-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1995
In first-person voice, Aldrin highlights points from his childhood that led to his dream of being an astronaut and making the historic moon landing. Coincidental details like his mother’s maiden name, “Moon,” and his favorite movie hero, the “Lone Ranger,” suggest clues to his destiny. After West Point, he joined the Air Force because “he wanted to fly more than anything.” Minor’s usual beautiful and realistic illustrations effectively convey spatial perspectives and movement, adding depth to the narrative. However, the cover design and type layout are confusing, indicative of a biography instead of an autobiography—a brief intro could have clarified it. Aldrin’s message in an author’s note avows, “If you set your sights high, you may accomplish more than you ever dreamed.” Pair this with Don Brown’s One Giant Step for a child’s-eye view on space exploration. (Flight/space exploration chronology) (Picture book/biography. 6-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-055445-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An earnest but energetic tribute to diversity, done up with postmodern arrays of smiling, stylized, lozenge-headed children paired to a rollicking celebration of: “Your coffee and cream skin, / your warm cocoa dream skin . . . / Your chocolate chip, double dip sundae supreme skin! / Your marshmallow treat skin, / your spun sugar sweet skin . . . / your cherry topped, candy dropped, frosting complete skin.” Tyler also urges readers to think about the commonality of “The skin that you laugh in; / the skin that you cry in; / the skin that you look to / the sky and ask, ‘Why?’ in.” Though he changes his tone and plies a verbal mallet to drive his point home in the last several verses, the earlier wordplay more than compensates—while glimpses of one child in a wheelchair, and another held by a biracial couple, expand the general theme to encompass more than skin color alone. A sonically playful, if just a bit overlong, alternative to Sheila Hamanaka’s All the Colors of the Earth (1994). (Picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-9759580-0-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Chicago Children’s Museum/IPG
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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