A loving tribute to an endangered way of life.
Kennard, a shepherd, struggles to save his North Devon farm after a U.K.-wide outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
The nine-month-long epidemic—the first in the U.K. in more than 30 years—decimated livestock throughout the region and left farmers wondering about the future of agribusiness. Against this backdrop, Kennard (A Shepherd’s Watch, 2005) recounts the months following the epidemic, when the market value of lamb slumped to 1960s levels. As if that weren’t enough, one of Kennard’s flocks is diagnosed with pasteurella, the biggest single killer of sheep in the country. Kennard soldiers on, however, with the help of his wife, three children and several working dogs. The self-effacing author makes his canine crew the highlight here, and their stories are as absorbing as any soap opera. Alpha dog Greg is getting on in years; will volatile Ernie make a suitable replacement? Matriarch Swift has a tumor on her foot; is Fern, who frequently refuses commands, too high-strung to accept more responsibility? And there's newcomer Jake: Only 11 months old, and he seems to have the wisdom of a much older dog. Perhaps he’ll become the pack’s leader? With the farm’s finances in free-fall, Kennard looks for ways to make extra money. Sheep-shearing, while backbreaking work, brings in a few hundred pounds. But it’s an offhand notion, a weekly sheepdog demonstration for tourists, that provides the family with a tidy sum.
A loving tribute to an endangered way of life.Pub Date: March 20, 2007
ISBN: 0-312-36200-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2006
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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