Anemic selections of basic facts paired to a visual trick that is only fitfully exploited with imagination.
A “whistle-stop” tour of natural, historical, and cultural marvels, from Denali to the Everglades, the Golden Gate Bridge to Mardi Gras.
The 14 entries—arranged in no particular order and never located on a map—are kitted out with a gimmick: alternating versos are solid black with white outlined figures, so that holding the colored illustrations on the rectos up to a light allows the figures to shine through and, ideally at least, complete a composition. This works nicely when, for instance, a view of the White House’s exterior on the colored side is matched to a (simplified) schematic of the rooms inside, but too often the additions are animals or groups of tourists in the foregrounds, offering neither insight nor much of a visual surprise. Also, whenever pages are held up, the simple descriptive commentary is hard to read as the text on the other side, nearly all of which is placed in the same general area, shows through in reverse. Both Johnson and, in the co-published Secrets of Our Earth, Wesley Robins vary the visible skin tones of their otherwise generic human figures.
Anemic selections of basic facts paired to a visual trick that is only fitfully exploited with imagination. (Informational novelty. 7-9)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-61067-543-7
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017
A fresh, if not quite as seamless, alternative to Robert D. and Daniel San Souci’s Song of Sedna (1981).
A popular Inuit cautionary legend, featuring a haughty young woman and a gruesome climactic twist.
Arnaq will accept no suitor, until a shaman sea bird disguised as a handsome young man sweeps her away with glittering promises to a wretched, reeking tent on a distant shore. When her father arrives to rescue her, the shaman raises such a storm that her terrified dad casts her overboard—and cuts off her fingers to keep her from holding on to the boat. Those fingers are transformed into whales and seals, and she, into a testy spirit named Nuliajuq, who calls up storms on all who “disrespect the land or the sea.” This and other modern-sounding lines (“Eventually Arnaq succumbed to complete depression”) give the otherwise formal narrative a playfully anachronistic air that may or may not be intentional. Lim illustrates the tale in a realistic rather than stylized way, using flowing lines and brush strokes to depict natural settings, faces, Arnaq’s lustrous locks (and, though seen only from a distance, fingerless hands), and a range of accurately detailed arctic and sea animals. In an afterword, the author explains that the sea spirit goes by several regional names; a pronunciation guide to Inuktitut words in this version is also included.
A fresh, if not quite as seamless, alternative to Robert D. and Daniel San Souci’s Song of Sedna (1981). (Picture book/folk tale. 7-9)Pub Date: March 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-927095-75-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Inhabit Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
Oh, the curse of being the only child—not adorable like the baby and not smart like the older sibling! Invisible, that’s how Marvelous Maud, sheep sidekick to only-child, newly selected superhero Extraordinary Ernie, feels. Maud decides to adopt a sidekick of her own. Turns out being a sidekick is no job for a middle kitten, bunny, tortoise, horse, goldfish, duckling or mouse, so Maud decides to hold a contest. Along the way, she enjoys hearing the travails of all the middle critters, but she does not notice when Ernie feels left out of the discussion. When the Baxter Branch of the Superheroes Society meets, Ernie’s ennui becomes obvious. Valiant Vera (the bravest and fastest superhero) throws down the gauntlet and bans the argumentative aces until they can work together. Decorated with frequent humorous black-and-white illustrations of winsome animals and adults in leotards, this offering is just right for readers ready for the challenge of a chapter book. Sibling conflict, animals and superheroes are all high on the interest level of young readers, making this a series to watch. (Fiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5368-4
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
