A solid introduction to wildlife conservation, but it misses the mark in providing a full context for the story.
Anna Merz was determined to protect endangered animals in East Africa.
Poachers were killing rhinos for their horns, and Anna Merz, a white woman at the end of a career in wildlife conservation, decided to do something about it. She started a sanctuary in Kenya on thousands of acres of land called Lewa Downs, on the northern slope of Mount Kenya. Kirk humanizes (rhino-izes?) Anna’s story by focusing on one rhinoceros calf Anna named Samia. Anna reads aloud to Samia, feeds her a special formula, gives her free run of her house, and even learns to interpret some of Samia’s vocalizations. Knowing that Samia needs to learn to be free and able to survive in the wild, Anna finds a patron and creates the Ngare Sergoi Rhino Sanctuary. Somehow, Kirk imbues Samia with personality without too much anthropomorphizing, and though Anna saves her, Samia saves the story, offering great appeal for young readers and moving the lively narrative along with her antics. As well-rounded a character as Samia is and as heroic as Anna Merz seems, however, no black Africans are included in the story, a void given the Kenya setting. The only other person included is David Craig (in the author’s note), the white owner of the 45,000-acre cattle ranch and donor of land for the wildlife sanctuary.
A solid introduction to wildlife conservation, but it misses the mark in providing a full context for the story. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2316-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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