An informative, effective, and poetic introduction to a desert’s beauty and complexity.
A picture book offers an ode to the Sonoran Desert’s brief, intense bloom.
“Heat waves build, swell and sweep, shimmer and simmer, across my lands. I burn.” This Southwestern desert may appear to be devoid of life, but Pattison’s narration describes the Sonoran as a body filled with flora and fauna that can wait long periods for the fleeting rainfall that will animate them. Debut illustrator Kim’s colorful collages of repurposed paper depict an owl and a nest of eggs, a mountain lion that lies in the hot sand, and purple storm clouds that burst to flood the dry landscape. “The monsoon has sprouted my seeds,” the desert declares. A coyote sniffs at the steaming earth at the base of a cactus. Overnight, eggs crack, flowers erupt into bloom, and “gorgeous, outrageous, fragrant, frail LIFE” fills the desert; toads emerge from puddles and chicks wander the hills. When the desert dries out once more, the seeds from flowers scatter on the wind to wait for rain. Large, legible text with plenty of alliteration and assonance combined with realistic, intriguing pictures of a huge range of animal and plant life make this an engaging storytime read for preschoolers. An extensive notes section at the end of the book gives a short overview of the life cycle of the depicted species, from kangaroo rats and spadefoot toads to chuckwallas and Gambel’s quail, and offers readers enlightening details about the Sonoran’s ecology.
An informative, effective, and poetic introduction to a desert’s beauty and complexity.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 9781629441771
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Mims House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A charming friendship story and great setup for future books.
Curious about the Big Wide World outside his Sasquatch community, Hugo makes a friend who is of it.
Sasquatch Hugo’s bedroom is inside a cave and possesses the charming feature of a small stream running through it that he can sail his little toy boat on. It’s cool, but he yearns to see the Big Wide World. When he asks his smart friend Gigi if a Sasquatch might become a sailor, she says it’s possible but would be difficult—the primary rule of their people is to not be seen by Humans. Then, in everyone’s favorite Hide and Go Sneak class, which is held outside, a Human appears; Hugo laughs at the sight, drawing Human attention in a taboo-breaking mistake. Shortly after, Hugo’s toy boat floats into the cave with a Human toy—soon, it’s facilitating a pen-pal–type relationship that’s derailed when Hugo confesses to being a Sasquatch and Human Boone, a budding cryptozoologist, doesn’t believe him. How Hugo and Boone resolve this misapprehension and become friends in a joint search for the Ogopogo concludes this series opener. Potter keeps the third-person narrative tightly focused on Hugo’s perspective, and the details she uses to flesh out the Sasquatch world are delightfully playful. Sala’s drawings depict a homey Sasquatch cavern community, Boone as a freckled, white boy, and Hugo as a hairily benevolent behemoth.
A charming friendship story and great setup for future books. (final art unseen) (Fantasy. 5-9)Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2859-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
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