Hong illustrates this new, if familiarly premised, legend about a historical Tang Dynasty artist with big, splendidly accomplished paintings, brushed on brown silk in a traditional style. Little Han Gan is too poor to afford brushes and paper, but such is his talent that even a drawing in the dirt earns him the support of renowned painter Wang Wei. This is followed by admission to an academy and wide fame for painting horses so spirited that they are said to come to life. One night, a literal-minded warrior comes to beg for a steed, and Han Gan actually creates one that springs off the paper. After many battles, though, the horse tires of the blood and death, and so Han Gan wakes one day to find that a sixth has joined the five horses he painted the day before. The youthful but dignified painter, the glowering warrior and especially the succession of muscular, proud, subtly hued horses will have a powerful impact on young audiences. Shelve this plainly told tale next to such similar tales of artistic transformations as Elizabeth Partridge’s Kogi’s Mysterious Journey (2003), Margaret Leaf’s Eyes of the Dragon (1987) or the various renditions of “The Boy Who Drew Cats.” (author’s note) (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2006
ISBN: 1-59270-063-2
Page Count: 38
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda.
Hank Zipzer, poster boy for dyslexic middle graders everywhere, stars in a new prequel series highlighting second-grade trials and triumphs.
Hank’s hopes of playing Aqua Fly, a comic-book character, in the upcoming class play founder when, despite plenty of coaching and preparation, he freezes up during tryouts. He is not particularly comforted when his sympathetic teacher adds a nonspeaking role as a bookmark to the play just for him. Following the pattern laid down in his previous appearances as an older child, he gets plenty of help and support from understanding friends (including Ashley Wong, a new apartment-house neighbor). He even manages to turn lemons into lemonade with a quick bit of improv when Nick “the Tick” McKelty, the sneering classmate who took his preferred role, blanks on his lines during the performance. As the aforementioned bully not only chokes in the clutch and gets a demeaning nickname, but is fat, boastful and eats like a pig, the authors’ sensitivity is rather one-sided. Still, Hank has a winning way of bouncing back from adversity, and like the frequent black-and-white line-and-wash drawings, the typeface is designed with easy legibility in mind.
An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-448-48239-2
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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