A mind-bender-cum-novel, set against the bleak landscapes of schoolyard bullying. Theo is tormented by a vicious boy, Jeffrey, and wants revenge. He doesn't just want to kill him or set him up, he wants to wreck himdestroy his mind and soul. Unfortunately for Jeffrey, Theo has a talent for creating devices, a talent that goes beyond genius, beyond artistry: It approaches the metaphysical. When he enlists new kid Michael as his ally, Michael is at once intrigued and terrified. Theo's new device, a wrecker, turns out to be more than either of them had imagined. Skinner's You Must Kiss a Whale (1992), was, like this one, weird. His characters and situations are once again, bizarrely familiar, and his style is unique and compellingly odd. Michael is realistically drawn. He is introspective, struggling with self- doubt, a nice kid; Theo, on the other hand, stepped out of a Dali painting. Michael is mesmerized, wants to know and understand Theo better, yet never does. The descriptions of Theo's method of working and of the machines themselves, are strange and haunting; the outcome immensely satisfying and will linger in the mind. Skinner stretches the boundaries of children's fiction with an unforgettable story. (Fiction. 12+)
Pub Date: July 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-671-79771-9
Page Count: 106
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pitamic bites off more than she can chew with this instructional art volume, but its core projects will excite in the right context. Twelve pieces of fine art inspire two art projects apiece. Matisse’s The Snail opens the Color section; after history and analysis, there’s one project arranging multicolored tissue-paper squares and one project adding hue to white paint to create stripes of value gradation. These creative endeavors exploring value, shade, texture and various media will exhilarate young artists—but only with at best semi-successful results, as they require an adult dedicated to both advance material procurement and doing the artwork along with the child. Otherwise, complex instructions plus a frequent requirement to draw or trace realistically will cause frustration. Much of the text is above children’s heads, errors of terminology and reproduction detract and the links between the famous pieces and the projects are imprecise. However, an involved adult and an enterprising child aged seven to ten will find many of the projects fabulously challenging and rewarding. Art In Action 2 (ISBN: 978-0-7641-441-7) publishes simultaneously. (artist biographies, glossary, location of originals) (Nonfiction. Adults)
Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7641-4440-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Barron's
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2010
Reading like a long term paper, this dry, abstract recitation of teams and players brings neither the game nor the people who played and are playing it to life. McKissack (with Patricia C. McKissack, Black Diamond, 1994, not reviewed, etc.) opens with a chapter on basketball’s invention and original rules, closes with a look at women’s basketball, and in between chronicles the growth of amateur, college, and pro ball, adding clipped quotes, technical observations about changing styles of play and vague comments about how players black and white respected each other. The information is evidently drawn entirely from previously published books and interviews. A modest selection of black-and-white photographs give faces to some of the many names the author drops, but readers won’t find much more about individual players beyond an occasional biographical or statistical tidbit. McKissack frequently points to parallels in the history of African Americans in basketball and in baseball, but this account comes off as sketchy and unfocused compared to Black Diamond. (glossary, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-590-48712-4
Page Count: 148
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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