by Constance Levy & illustrated by Robin Bell Corfield ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1998
These smal, winsome poems look hard at nature with the eyes of a child; the brief, clear-eyed tributes to the natural world often capture it with a flash of humor. In “Corn Smiles,” Levy (A Tree Place, 1994, etc.) sees inside the ear of corn: “Corn teeth/in the widest grin.” “Herb Garden” merrily rhymes “bouquet” with “gourmet,” and “Jack-o’-Lantern” notes “you can’t be any/oranger than that.” A few poems play with shaped text on the page; sometimes there’s a lesson: “Spiders never hesitate;/when there’s work/they don’t wait.” A lovely addition to any poetry shelf. (b&w illustrations, not seen) (Poetry. 7-12)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-82204-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1998
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by Constance Levy & illustrated by Robert Sabuda
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by Constance Levy & illustrated by Ronald Himler
by Julia Alvarez ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2001
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay.
Renowned Latin American writer Alvarez has created another story about cultural identity, but this time the primary character is 11-year-old Miguel Guzmán.
When Tía Lola arrives to help the family, Miguel and his hermana, Juanita, have just moved from New York City to Vermont with their recently divorced mother. The last thing Miguel wants, as he's trying to fit into a predominantly white community, is a flamboyant aunt who doesn't speak a word of English. Tía Lola, however, knows a language that defies words; she quickly charms and befriends all the neighbors. She can also cook exotic food, dance (anywhere, anytime), plan fun parties, and tell enchanting stories. Eventually, Tía Lola and the children swap English and Spanish ejercicios, but the true lesson is "mutual understanding." Peppered with Spanish words and phrases, Alvarez makes the reader as much a part of the "language" lessons as the characters. This story seamlessly weaves two culturaswhile letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life. Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they're being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of la lengua nativa—the mother tongue.
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-80215-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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by Julia Alvarez ; illustrated by Raúl Colón
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by Julia Alvarez ; illustrated by Sabra Field
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by Seymour Simon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1993
Remarking that ``nothing about the weather is very simple,'' Simon goes on to describe how the sun, atmosphere, earth's rotation, ground cover, altitude, pollution, and other factors influence it; briefly, he also tells how weather balloons gather information. Even for this outstanding author, it's a tough, complex topic, and he's not entirely successful in simplifying it; moreover, the import of the striking uncaptioned color photos here isn't always clear. One passage—``Cumulus clouds sometimes build up into towering masses called cumulus congestus, or swelling cumulus, which may turn into cumulonimbus clouds''—is superimposed on a blue-gray, cloud-covered landscape. But which kind of clouds are these? Another photo, in blue-black and white, shows what might be precipitation in the upper atmosphere, or rain falling on a darkened landscape, or...? Generally competent and certainly attractive, but not Simon's best. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-688-10546-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1993
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