A photo-essay that shows the largest equine breeds— Percherons, Belgians, and Clydesdales—in actual working situations and as participants in an exhibition. Fascinating nuggets of draft-horse lore are embedded in the simple text: A century ago there were 27 million such horses at work in America; Percherons are descended from the huge medieval warhorses that carried armored knights; one horsepower is accessibly defined as the amount of force necessary to raise a weight of 150 pounds from a hole 220 feet deep in one minute (although that definition is buried in a note on the copyright page). The full-color photographs include close-ups of hooves, harnesses, and the strong, patient faces of both horses and owners, as well as working rigs of many types, from a plow hitched to a dozen Belgians, to a one-horse open sleigh. Particularly appealing are the pictures of foals and of young people feeding, shoeing, driving, and admiring these gentle giants. Workhorses have been overshadowed by their flashier cousins; it's good for young readers to be reminded of their beauty and historical importance. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-9)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1997
ISBN: 1-56397-626-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1997
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-81175-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998
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