Looks good but does nothing new.
A colorful, informative, and Eurocentric crash course in world architecture for young readers.
This well-illustrated work of nonfiction does a solid job of providing basic architectural knowledge for young readers, but its limited survey of examples undercuts its utility. The Egyptian pyramids, the Parthenon, Rome (“the birth of town planning”) and the Pantheon, and a single page on Byzantine architecture represent early examples. Other non-European architectural landmarks featured include the Imam Khomeini Mosque in Isfahan, Iran; a Moroccan Berber village; and Japanese architecture, represented by a typical house and the Katsura Imperial Villa. A spread on domestic architecture offers pictures of homes in Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, the U.K., the American Great Plains, Oman, China, Brazil, Malaysia, Cameroon, and more, but no context is provided. Of architects profiled, only Zaha Hadid is not a white, European man; a paragraph on female architects states that historically, “they did not receive the credit they deserved,” then goes on to prove the point by cramming 15 further names into three sentences. Latin America and Australia are almost completely ignored. It is notable that illustrated builders, architects, and engineers are largely pale-skinned, though one of book's child guides is a girl of color, and there is a woman of color in a picture of a modern architecture firm. That this nonfiction book provides more details on an imagined Martian outpost than on both sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America is downright depressing.
Looks good but does nothing new. (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-7870-8029-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Button Books
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Similar to the vignettes found in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, this book’s sentimental collection can’t help but...
Intended for ages 9-12, this collection of 10 true vignettes elucidate the bucket-filling philosophy of being a helpful and caring person.
There is a simple philosophy behind bucket filling. As Lundgren writes in her introduction, “We each have an invisible bucket. When it is full, we feel good—happy, peaceful, grateful, or loving. When it is empty, we feel bad—sad, lonely, angry, and frightened.” Ultimately, we must decide whether to be selfless “bucketfillers” or selfish “bucketdippers,” and through a series of short and sweet anecdotes, the book pushes the idea that it is far better to fill than to dip. The stories focus on regular folks who choose to be a positive force for others in small ways. There is the mom who picks up a gallon of gas for the new family at church and relates her story to the police officer who stops her for speeding. Hearing her story, the officer lets the woman go with only a warning—filling the woman’s bucket rather than dipping into it by issuing a ticket on Christmas Eve. Another vignette tells of a ballet dancer reminiscing about the high school teacher who not only allowed her to find solace in dance during the darkest days of her parents’ divorce, but was there with an extra hug when needed. While the stories are often overtly sentimental (seemingly cut from the same cloth as a Hallmark card commercial), each effectively demonstrates that it is just as easy to do good in this world as it is to do ill or nothing. All of the tales culminate with a set of discussion questions that allow the reader to bring her own insight into what she has just read; perfect for a classroom setting. This trains the reader to get into the proper mind-set to use the bucket-filling philosophy in her own life. Despite the book’s slight feel (10 stories in just over 100 pages), the reader will be left hard pressed not to fill more buckets in her life.
Similar to the vignettes found in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, this book’s sentimental collection can’t help but warm your heart.Pub Date: April 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0984336609
Page Count: 110
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
“Il était une fois…” French Canada’s version of beanstalk-climbing Jack gets a rare outing in three tales refashioned from old sources by a veteran storyteller. Preserving the lightest touch of a French inflection—“Cric, crac, / Parli, parlons, parlo. / If you won’t listen, / Out you go”—Andrews sets her naïve but teachable everylad up against a trio of opponents. There is a grasping princess who tricks him out of a magic belt, moneybag and trumpet; a murderous little man who sets him on numerous impossible tasks after beating him at marbles; and a harsh seigneur who insists on chucking his intellectual daughter’s suitors into the dungeon when they prove to be less clever than she. Thanks to hard work, a little magic and a winning way with the ladies, Ti-Jean ultimately comes out on top in each episode while never allowing lasting harm to come to anyone and is ever magnanimous in victory. Illustrated with frequent scribbly, lighthearted ink-and-wash scenes and vignettes, these stories read with equal ease silently or aloud and offer a winning introduction to a universal folk character. Equally charming is the source note, in which Andrews describes the origins of the tales and how she worked with them. “Sac-à-tabac, / Sac-à-tabi. / The story’s ended, / C’est fini.” (Folktales. 9-11)
Pub Date: April 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-88899-952-8
Page Count: 72
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2011
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