A pleasing fantasy, especially for tween girls who love horses.
In this novella for middle-grade readers, a girl and her horse are threatened by wildfire.
Olivia, called Livy, has spent the summer working on the Bar S Ranch in Montana, which caters to city tourists. Already an experienced hand, Livy, about 11, has worked hard and often independently for Bar S: she “guided groups to campsites, resupplied camps, herded strays, searched for lost hikers, and occasionally helped with the shoeing and in the cookhouse.” She likes the Atkinsons, the ranch owners whom most call Ma and Pa, and Don, a Sioux who started off as the Atkinsons’ stock hand and is now a trusted family confidant. All three are kind and nurturing, despite worrying over the ranch’s financial troubles. Pa calls Livy in for a last chore before she returns home: a two-day ride out to the base camp to retrieve a radio for repair. Livy will need to take a backwoods route because of wildfire in the area—but she’s warned to stay off federal land and the old suspension bridge. A long solo ride over rugged ground sounds like the perfect end to her summer, and Livy agrees eagerly. She and Itchy, her favorite mount, get a good start on the trail, but the wildfire changes direction—and the only way forward for Itchy and Livy is across the suspension bridge. Can Livy save the day, herself, Itchy, and the ranch? Dahl (Olivia’s Story: Protector of the Realm, 2016, etc.) writes a story of resourcefulness, intelligence, courage, and luck that has great appeal, especially for girls who’d like to see themselves as rescuers, not the rescued. The plot moves swiftly with some exciting scenes of danger and escape. The book has faults: at 68 pages, it’s skimpy and can be vague on details (like Livy’s last name, age, or home city); and some elements, such as adults eager to share wealth with Livy, perhaps betray the book’s origins in tales told to please a granddaughter. And Don is a bit of a Native American stereotype.
A pleasing fantasy, especially for tween girls who love horses.Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-312-79967-7
Page Count: 68
Publisher: Lulu
Review Posted Online: Nov. 7, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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