A simplified account for reluctant readers; richer pickings exist.
An overview of ancient Greek gods, heroes, monsters, and storytellers.
Distilling a set of alphabetically arranged rosters sprinkled with paraphrased exploits into an accessible overview, Nardo offers a general picture of the classical era’s teeming mythical storyscape—Heracles’ labors are cut to two, for example; Charybdis earns a nod but not Scylla; and though Odysseus’ faithful old dog, Argus, gets a full entry, his wife, Penelope, rates nary a mention. The author’s observations about how these myths have enduring value as “universal comments on the human condition” are well taken (though calling them “somewhat equivalent to the tales in the biblical Old Testament” may ruffle a few feathers). So is a rare chapter on specific ancient literary sources from Homer (treated as a single historical author) and Hesiod to Pseudo-Apollodorus. Aside from a reference to the “strange coupling” of a bull with King Minos’ wife, Pasiphae, that resulted in the Minotaur, the originals’ abundant sexual and romantic exploits are largely left between the lines. Considering the preponderance of strong female figures that, unlike Penelope and Ariadne, do make the cut, a claim that most of the women in this mythological tradition were presented as “subservient and largely powerless” may confuse readers. Text boxes scattered throughout introduce the Greek roots of a number of English words.
A simplified account for reluctant readers; richer pickings exist. (map, image credits, source notes, Greek and Roman mythology guide, further research, index) (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-67820-238-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: ReferencePoint Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Although fascinating, this lengthy effort seems nearly interchangeable with the adult version.
Military service dogs perform a variety of roles, but those trained to sniff out IEDs are the primary focus of this effort.
Like so many recent nonfiction works for young adults, this is a reworked version of a recent adult publication, also called War Dogs (2015). Frankel begins many chapters with brief, engaging narrative descriptions of war-dog missions or training episodes, then turns her attention to the details of the stories. Included are sad descriptions of missions that resulted in the deaths of dogs or handlers. One long section focuses on the extensive dog and handler training that goes on in a “K-9 village,” a realistic mock-up of an Iraqi town at the Yuma Proving Ground. There’s a proliferation of acronyms and initialisms, all included in a list in the extensive backmatter, and their use adds military flavor to the story that may appeal to some readers, but the sheer profusion of them can overwhelm. The volume is but lightly redacted (a reference to a dog as a “nasty little bitch” in the book for adults is prudishly absent here); the most striking difference involves the breaking up of the text into many more chapters than in the adult volume and integrating photographs into the narrative rather than isolating them in an insert. Sentence length and structure are not noticeably simplified for a young audience.
Although fascinating, this lengthy effort seems nearly interchangeable with the adult version. (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-250-11228-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stirring, suspenseful true story of dangerous adventure and remarkable survival.
In this true, thrilling adventure story, 55-year-old former president Theodore Roosevelt joins an expedition to explore an uncharted river deep in the Amazon jungle and barely makes it out alive.
Long before he was president of the United States, Roosevelt was famous as an intrepid adventurer. While on a speaking tour of South America, Roosevelt receives an offer he cannot refuse: lead an expedition deep into a mostly unknown region of the Amazon to chart an unmapped river. Accompanying him are his son Kermit and renowned Brazilian explorer Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon, quite similar to Roosevelt in stamina and temperament. The expedition is plagued with difficulties from the beginning. Besides having to trudge through thick, unforgiving jungle and navigate an unpredictably dangerous river with raging rapids and steep waterfalls, Roosevelt and his companions must endure myriad threats such as ferocious insects, malaria, near starvation, bloodthirsty piranhas, poisonous snakes, and hostile indigenous peoples. Seiple’s crisply written, briskly paced narrative brings the constant state of danger to the fore, smoothly weaving in quotations from primary sources. As close to death as he has ever been, Roosevelt characteristically remarks, "I did have a murderous trip down South, but it was mighty interesting." One unfortunate oversight is an absence of specific source notes for these quotations.
A stirring, suspenseful true story of dangerous adventure and remarkable survival. (photos, “Teddy’s Travel Tips,” timeline, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-70916-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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