In this upper-level Easy Reader, a young Confederate deserter repays with a courageous act the Gettysburg family that shelters him. As the great battle rages nearby, Billy and his mother huddle anxiously in their farmhouse—joined in the night by a trembling young soldier who begs asylum. Dressed in new clothes and warned not to speak lest his accent give him away, the fugitive silently helps when marauding soldiers demand food, then as the defeated southern army retreats, rescues Billy, who recklessly antagonizes a passing horseman. Floca depicts the young folk and the farm, but not the battle itself, in sketchy watercolors; Hopkinson follows up with a note explaining that the episode is based on a true story. The theme of friendship across lines of antagonism will kindle deep responses in more than just students of the Civil War. (map) (Easy reader. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-689-83964-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2005
Small, a very little fox, needs some reassurance from Large in the unconditional love department. If he is grim and grumpy, will he still be loved? “ ‘Oh, Small,’ said Large, ‘grumpy or not, I’ll always love you, no matter what.’ “ So it goes, in a gentle rhyme, as Large parries any number of questions that for Small are very telling. What if he were to turn into a young bear, or squishy bug, or alligator? Would a mother want to hug and hold these fearsome animals? Yes, yes, answers Large. “But does love wear out? Does it break or bend? Can you fix it or patch it? Does it mend?” There is comfort in Gliori’s pages, but it is a result of repetition and not the imagery; this is a quick fix, not an enduring one, but it eases Small’s fears and may well do the same for children. (Picture book. 2-6)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-202061-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
Going produce shopping with Freymann and Elffers is more of a casting call than a trip to the supermarket, for they use fruits and vegetables to display a wide range of emotions. Children and their keepers will be astonished to discover how closely the wrinkles, bends, and creases in produce can mimic human feelings. The text is fairly direct, asking questions to make children think about their emotions: “When you’re angry, do you pout? Whine? Cry? Scream? Shout?” The ridges of a red pepper, with eyes of dried peas, convey the pout, while other fruit demonstrate the rest of the query. These full-color photographs communicate most of the information; even preschoolers will be able to tell a happy orange from a glum one, and adults will smile to see an onion crying. The organic qualities of the produce are used to charming advantage, e.g., the bend of a green pepper makes the perfect overbearing profile of a bully, while a hollowed-out orange gives just the right depth to an opened-mouthed howl. Fun, and useful—what child would not be encouraged to talk about being shy when there is a cantaloupe that admits to exactly the same thing? (Picture book. 4-9)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-439-10431-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Levine/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
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