Adventurous writings for literary risk-takers and thrill-seekers.
A collection of original prose and poetry that ranges from thoughtful to provocative and from experimental to really far-out.
Poet and mother Lomax assembled these avant-garde writings from contributors around the country as a showcase for their talents and to encourage children to literally take their own pencils outside proscribed boundaries. The short stories, playlets, concrete poetry and wordplay are all free-flowing and decidedly nontraditional. Their sentiments are sometimes warm and tender, sometimes humorous and sometimes weird. The more than 80 contributors include those remembering moments from their Mexican-American, Indian, Danish and Iraqi childhoods and heritages. Roald Dahl, Nietzsche and the Bible are sources of inspiration for others. Ecology enters into the mix in verse about endangered manatees. Children recreate a Yoko Ono activity in a “Hide and Seek Piece.” In one of the more entertaining entries, a poet imagines “scenes from the life of a sweater: / your mother bought me for you / july is moth month for my closet kin / i come from a close-knit family / you can get pulled over in a cardigan.” Teachers and students willing to take a giant leap beyond conventionality may find inspiration here. Straightforward of design, the volume is illustrated with black-and-white line drawings and photographs, and blank pages are appended.
Adventurous writings for literary risk-takers and thrill-seekers. (author biographies, afterword) (Anthology. 10-14)Pub Date: June 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-9850837-6-2
Page Count: 178
Publisher: Black Radish
Review Posted Online: April 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2013
A prolific reporter of paranormal phenomena strains to bring that same sense of wonder to 12 “transposed”—that is, paraphrased from interviews but related in first person—accounts of extraordinary experiences. Some feats are more memorable than others; compared to Bethany Hamilton’s return to competitive surfing after having her arm bitten off by a shark and Mark Inglis’ climb to the top of Mount Everest on two prosthetic legs, Joe Hurley’s nine-month walk from Cape Cod to Long Beach, Calif., is anticlimactic. Dean Karnazes hardly seems to be exerting himself as he runs 50 marathons on 50 consecutive days, and the comments of an Air Force Thunderbirds pilot and a military Surgeon’s Assistant in Iraq come off as carefully bland. The survivors of a hurricane at sea, a lightning strike and a tornado, on the other hand, tell more compelling stories. Most of the color photos are at least marginally relevant, and each entry closes with a short note on its subject’s subsequent activities. Casual browsers will be drawn to at least some of the reconstructed narratives in this uneven collection. A reading list would have been more useful than the superfluous index, though. Fun, in a scattershot sort of way. (Nonfiction browsing item. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4027-6711-1
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
Stun friends and family members by guessing secret numbers and doing painless long division. Dice and card tricks and finger multiplication are among the fascinating tricks potential mathemagicians will learn to perform. But Colgan goes beyond the ordinary by giving an in-depth, easily understandable explanation of the math behind each trick, as well as any history that might be applicable, too. Not only will readers learn how to multiply large numbers in their heads, they will learn why this trick works and that the early Egyptians used the very same method. Prime numbers, Napier’s bones, division dowels, the binary number system and factoring are just a few areas they will explore. Kids won’t stop with just learning the tricks—the emphasis is on performing them, and the author does a great job of giving tips for a magical performance that is not only believable but entertaining as well. Backmatter includes a glossary, but the language used in the definitions is more advanced than that used in the text, and the terms used within the entries are not always themselves defined. Kurisu’s illustrations emphasize the performance side of mathemagic, showing potential performers how to successfully set up or follow through with specific tricks. Colgan makes math cool, and that speaks for itself. (Nonfiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-55453-425-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2011
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