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SOME BOATS HAVE WINGS

Name: SOME BOATS HAVE WINGS
Author: Clare Oliver
ISBN: 0-7613-0736-2

AND OTHER AMAZING FACTS ABOUT SHIPS AND SUBMARINES

by Clare Oliver & illustrated by Ross Watton & Jo Moore ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1998

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This intriguing compendium of facts in the I Didn’t Know That series encompasses the earliest paper boats of the Egyptians to modern day plastic-hulled Minesweepers. True to series format, each spread, beginning with the phrase “I didn’t know that,” focuses on a specific era. Included throughout the book are the feature icons (search-and-find activities, true/false queries, etc.) to test readers’ knowledge. The design doesn’t intrude here (see review, above), perhaps because the topic is more immediately familiar to children. Watton and Moore’s detailed illustrations are realistically rendered; the full-color panoramas, overlaid with many smaller pictures, invite in-depth perusals. (maps, diagrams, index, glossary) (Nonfiction. 6-8)

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1998

ISBN: 0-7613-0736-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Copper Beech/Millbrook

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1998

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
MOUNTAINS GUSH LAVA AND ASH
by Clare Oliver & illustrated by Ian Thompson

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BUBBA, THE COWBOY PRINCE

A FRACTURED TEXAS TALE

by Helen Ketteman & illustrated by James Warhola ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1997

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A Cinderella parody features the off-the-wall, whang-dang Texas hyperbole of Ketteman (The Year of No More Corn, 1993, etc.) and the insouciance of Warhola, who proves himself only too capable of creating a fairy godcow; that she's so appealingly whimsical makes it easy to accept the classic tale's inversions. The protagonist is Bubba, appropriately downtrodden and overworked by his wicked stepdaddy and loathsome brothers Dwayne and Milton, who spend their days bossing him around. The other half of the happy couple is Miz Lurleen, who owns ``the biggest spread west of the Brazos.'' She craves male companionship to help her work the place, ``and it wouldn't hurt if he was cute as a cow's ear, either.'' There are no surprises in this version except in the hilarious way the premise plays itself out and in Warhola's delightful visual surprises. When Lurleen tracks the bootless Bubba down, ``Dwayne and Milton and their wicked daddy threw chicken fits.'' Bubba and babe, hair as big as a Texas sun, ride off to a life of happy ranching, and readers will be proud to have been along for the courtship. (Picture book/folklore. 6-8)

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1997

ISBN: 0-590-25506-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1997

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
IT'S HALLOWEEN, LITTLE MONSTER
by Helen Ketteman ; illustrated by Bonnie Leick

- BOOK REVIEW
AT THE OLD HAUNTED HOUSE
by Helen Ketteman ; illustrated by Nate Wragg

- BOOK REVIEW
THERE ONCE WAS A COWPOKE WHO SWALLOWED AN ANT
by Helen Ketteman ; illustrated by Will Terry

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THE BEST CHEF IN SECOND GRADE

by Katharine Kenah & illustrated by Abby Carter ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 2007

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An impending school visit by a celebrity chef sends budding cook Ollie into a tailspin. He and his classmates are supposed to bring a favorite family food for show and tell, but his family doesn’t have a clear choice—besides, his little sister Rosy doesn’t like much of anything. What to do? As in their previous two visits to Room 75, Kenah builds suspense while keeping the tone light, and Carter adds both bright notes of color and familiar home and school settings in her cartoon illustrations. Eventually, Ollie winkles favorite ingredients out of his clan, which he combines into a mac-and-cheese casserole with a face on top that draws delighted praise from the class’s renowned guest. As Ollie seems to do his kitchen work without parental assistance, a cautionary tip or two (and maybe a recipe) might not have gone amiss here, but the episode’s mouthwatering climax and resolution will guarantee smiles of contentment all around. (Easy reader. 6-7)