For his newest exercise in math without tears—unless you count tears of laughter—Schwartz invites readers to imagine how much food a dog the size of a T. rex would eat, how big the Earth would be if the Moon were a marble, how long a tongue would be if taste buds were as big as rose buds and similar ramifications for germs the size of gerbils, hair as thick as spaghetti, kayaks the size of cruise ships, a submarine sandwich as big as a submarine and more. If his comparisons don’t have readers rolling in the aisles, Warhola’s literal visualizations—from a skateboarder zooming down a ramp-like tongue to a humongous mole (as in “molehill”) towering over the Empire State Building, meatballs as big as bowling balls and a chocolate bar with blimp-sized almonds melting messily over a shopping mall—definitely will. And, to prove that it’s not all just free-range imagining, Schwartz closes with actual numbers, step-by-step calculations, notes on iffy assumptions (for instance, a 14,000 pound dog would eat a lot, but not 350 times as much as a 40 pound one) and related problems to solve. Math didn’t used to be this much fun—it’s almost unfair. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-439-67612-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2005
Tammy Collins feels like a nobody because her father, who left a year ago, hasn't been in touch with her since; her pain and confusion lead to name-calling, lying, and stealing. A disabled bookstore-owner and Tammy's older sister help her to restore her faith in herself and make amends. The plot's sound but flawed by a clumsily handled fantasy subplot about a flying mouse and by unlikely motivation (readers are asked to accept that fourth graders believe in monsters and aliens; that an estranged couple- -absent serious pathology—would allow a year to pass without any contact between father and children; and that paraplegia can be overcome by force of will); the story is also cluttered with unnecessary incidents and with a message—``Believe in yourself''- -that's tediously overstated. (Fiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-395-61628-X
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1993
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Young Goolam-Habib has not spoken since the night the forest burned, but at last an old man draws him out by inviting him to help make scarecrows for the strawberry fields. Working together with straw, scraps, and old clothes, the two build an amusing family: a man astride an ostrich, a wife, and their daughter, riding a bicycle. Dooling's expressive, realistic people are depicted against more freely rendered settings that are muted and frequently shadowy. The straw figures, too, are blurred, but their gangly awkwardness adds a happier note to this rather somber tale of intergenerational friendship. Rupert emphasizes the story's universality by leaving many details to conjecture—how Goolam- Habib came to be orphaned; even the setting, which might be South Africa. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 22, 1993
ISBN: 0-671-77047-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1993
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