The author of Spider Sparrow (2000) again looks to society’s margins, chronicling the growth of an unlikely friendship between a seedy, solitary septuagenarian and a newly arrived young family. Maggie Slade has a patch on one eye (relic of a Guy Fawkes Day accident), lives in a shabby caravan without electricity or running water, and is widely regarded by local children as a witch. Too new in the village to have been warned off, young Patsy and Jim Reader wander by and, once they get used to the barnyard reek that hangs about Maggie and her property, have a delightful visit. Even the children’s wary parents are soon disarmed by her sweet, gracious manner. King-Smith makes it clear that Maggie lives the way she does not from necessity—in fact, she turns out to be a baron’s daughter, with a churn full of pound notes and gold sovereigns buried out back—but by choice. In Kronheimer’s frequent pen-and-ink illustrations, her content shines out beneath her raffish exterior. Still, meeting the Readers prompts her to see at last how far she’s let herself go, and her conscientious new friends prove to be johnnys-on-the-spot, first when she takes a nasty spill, then when a would-be robber pays a call. The climactic bits give shape to the story, but it hardly needs it: with a donkey to ride, plenty of playful dogs and cats, and a neverending supply of chips and cookies, Maggie makes a neighbor almost any child would love to have. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-517-80045-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
A neglected child's supernatural defenders turn against her in this brooding fantasy, set in modern Wales. Dinah's mother, Rosalie, has a new paramour: wealthy, ruthless Gomer Gwynne, who parks the two in a decrepit, overgrown mansion—just for a while, he says. Savvy beyond her 11 years, Dinah sees how much Gomer wants her out from underfoot, but a lifetime of being unwanted has toughened her, and the chance, however quixotic, of having a settled home prompts her to dig in her heels. She finds unexpected help on a visit to town; animated by her fierce wishes, some of the wild animals carved on a stone wall follow her home, to lurk menacingly in the shadows outside, harassing and attacking Gwynne at her command. When she tries to leave the house on Christmas Day, however, she suddenly finds them ranged against her. Nimmo (The Witches and the Singing Mice, 1993, etc.) tests her smart, strong-minded protagonist with a series of challenging situations, a powerful enemy, dangerous magical servants, and a trio of would-be allies: a battered old tomcat and two schoolmates able to see past her brusque exterior. The story has a dark, mysterious tone, but ends on a bright note: Gwynne's glib promise of marriage seems a thin prize for Rosalie, but it frees Dinah to find a home at last with a loving, just-discovered great-grandfather. A well-told story with unusually strong characters. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: April 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-531-30006-4
Page Count: 198
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Patent (Biodiversity, 1996, etc.) describes some of the current conservation programs that preserve endangered animals by capturing wild specimens, breeding them in captivity, and reintroducing offspring to the wild. The American red wolf, black-footed ferret, Florida panther, the Madagascar lemur, and the Brazilian golden lion tamarin are some of the animals in captive breeding programs. Noting the difficulties and failures of such programs, Patent introduces— without going into detail—the concerns conservationists have raised about such programs: scarce resources directed away from environmental and habitat protection; captive and released animals having a high mortality rate; the ethical issues surrounding genetic tinkering; the selection of popular animals (large, cuddly mammals are chosen while thousands of other endangered species are ignored); and the destruction of existing competing species in a range to permit the reintroduction of a particular species. Patent acknowledges that habitat protection is cheaper and more effective, but concludes that captive breeding programs are a ``hopeful tool for conservation of species around the world.'' Full-color photographs of animals in and out of captivity enhance the whole. (index) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: April 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-15-200280-4
Page Count: 69
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1997
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