Mole’s fine portraits and photographs of family gatherings and special events hang in every home and office in his quaint, 19th-century, English-looking country town. While everyone thinks his work is excellent, Mole’s unsatisfied and can’t quite understand what’s missing. Much to the dismay, chagrin, and disappointment of his loving and caring neighbors, Mole temporarily closes his shop and leaves town to do some soul-searching. In his absence, much happens that isn’t captured on film—the Sheep Jubilee, the Bulldog Reunion. Finally, upon his return, Mole is eagerly met by his friends the Porcupines, the Rabbits, and the Lawyer Swans, and descends from the train with a new bride-to-be, thus adding the missing detail to his life. This story of inner loneliness illustrated with full-page paintings in ink, watercolor, and oil wash, reflects an era of cobblestone streets, rolling green hills, red clay-tiled roofed cottages, and a menagerie of characters dressed in period clothing. The notion of balancing a successful career with family and home may be lost on youngsters; however this historical vignette is quite pleasing and intriguing all the same. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: June 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-8037-2924-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
The lifecycle of the frog is succinctly summarized in this easy reader for children reading at the late first-grade level. In just one or two sentences per page, Vern details the amazing metamorphosis of the frog from egg to tadpole to adult, even injecting a little humor despite the tight word count. (“Watch out fly! Mmmm!) Large, full-color photographs on white backgrounds clearly illustrate each phase of development. Without any mention of laying eggs or fertilization, the title might be a bit misleading, but the development from black dot egg to full-grown frog is fascinating. A simple chart of the three main lifecycle steps is also included. Lifecycles are part of the standard curriculum in the early elementary grades, and this will be a welcome addition to school and public libraries, both for its informational value and as an easy reader. (Nonfiction/easy reader. 5-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-15-216304-2
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Green Light/Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2001
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor
Having surveyed worms, spiders, flies, and head lice, Gravel continues her Disgusting Critters series with a quick hop through toad fact and fancy.
The facts are briefly presented in a hand-lettered–style typeface frequently interrupted by visually emphatic interjections (“TOXIN,” “PREY,” “EWWW!”). These are, as usual, paired to simply drawn cartoons with comments and punch lines in dialogue balloons. After casting glances at the common South American ancestor of frogs and toads, and at such exotic species as the Emei mustache toad (“Hey ladies!”), Gravel focuses on the common toad, Bufo bufo. Using feminine pronouns throughout, she describes diet and egg-laying, defense mechanisms, “warts,” development from tadpole to adult, and of course how toads shed and eat their skins. Noting that global warming and habitat destruction have rendered some species endangered or extinct, she closes with a plea and, harking back to those South American origins, an image of an outsized toad, arm in arm with a dark-skinned lad (in a track suit), waving goodbye: “Hasta la vista!”
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor . (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77049-667-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
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