by Diane Siebert & illustrated by Leonard Jenkins ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2002
Motorcycle fans young and old will find that this evocative poetic work revs up their reading engines, with one long but accessible poem that celebrates motorcycle mania and the lure of the lonely highway. Siebert (Mississippi, not reviewed, etc.) continues her successful series of transportation-themed poetry collections with this latest work. Here she knows whereof she speaks because she rides a 750cc Honda Nighthawk herself. Her long, rhyming poem can be read as one longer piece, or it can easily be broken into shorter sections that can stand alone. She begins and ends by focusing on a single “motorcycle man,” who rides out of town in search of “wide roads / side roads / perfect-for-a-ride roads.” He drives down highways and country roads, meeting different bikers and describing their motorcycles: “hot bikes / cool bikes / enough-to-make-you-drool bikes,” with popular brand names woven into the text (causing a few sputters in the meter). Vibrant mixed-media paintings effectively showcase the motorcycles with dynamic style. The text is incorporated into the double-page spreads, set attractively in all-lower-case italics for a clean, modern look that will appeal to older readers, as will the sophisticated illustrations. The high in “high interest” doesn’t get much more appealing than this. (Poetry. 5-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-06-028732-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2002
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by Richard Collingridge ; illustrated by Richard Collingridge ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 31, 2018
A fair choice, but it may need some support to really blast off.
This rocket hopes to take its readers on a birthday blast—but there may or may not be enough fuel.
Once a year, a one-seat rocket shoots out from Earth. Why? To reveal a special congratulatory banner for a once-a-year event. The second-person narration puts readers in the pilot’s seat and, through a (mostly) ballad-stanza rhyme scheme (abcb), sends them on a journey toward the sun, past meteors, and into the Kuiper belt. The final pages include additional information on how birthdays are measured against the Earth’s rotations around the sun. Collingridge aims for the stars with this title, and he mostly succeeds. The rhyme scheme flows smoothly, which will make listeners happy, but the illustrations (possibly a combination of paint with digital enhancements) may leave the viewers feeling a little cold. The pilot is seen only with a 1960s-style fishbowl helmet that completely obscures the face, gender, and race by reflecting the interior of the rocket ship. This may allow readers/listeners to picture themselves in the role, but it also may divest them of any emotional connection to the story. The last pages—the backside of a triple-gatefold spread—label the planets and include Pluto. While Pluto is correctly labeled as a dwarf planet, it’s an unusual choice to include it but not the other dwarfs: Ceres, Eris, etc. The illustration also neglects to include the asteroid belt or any of the solar system’s moons.
A fair choice, but it may need some support to really blast off. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 31, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-338-18949-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: David Fickling/Phoenix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018
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by Andrea Zimmerman & David Clemesha ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 30, 1999
Part of a spate of books intent on bringing the garbage collectors in children’s lives a little closer, this almost matches...
Listeners will quickly take up the percussive chorus—“Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the Trashy town! Is the trash truck full yet? NO”—as they follow burly Mr. Gilly, the garbage collector, on his rounds from park to pizza parlor and beyond.
Flinging cans and baskets around with ease, Mr. Gilly dances happily through streetscapes depicted with loud colors and large, blocky shapes; after a climactic visit to the dump, he roars home for a sudsy bath.
Part of a spate of books intent on bringing the garbage collectors in children’s lives a little closer, this almost matches Eve Merriam’s Bam Bam Bam (1995), also illustrated by Yaccarino, for sheer verbal and visual volume. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: April 30, 1999
ISBN: 0-06-027139-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
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