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OSCAR THE OSPREY

Name: OSCAR THE OSPREY
Author: Edward Martin Polansky
ISBN: 978-1-72830-112-9

THE BIRD WITH A CONUNDRUM

by Edward Martin Polansky ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2019

A charming tale about deceit’s tangled web with textured, kinetic illustrations.

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In this illustrated children’s book, a young osprey has an ethical dilemma.

In his debut novel, Oscar the Osprey: The Bird Who Was Afraid of Heights (2015), Polansky introduced his avian title character and explained how he dealt with his fear of heights. Oscar also bravely stayed at Jenny Lake for the winter while his flock migrated south, a feat that has transformed him from outcast to hero. But what only Oscar and the timber wolves know is that he actually found a safe spot a short distance from the lake, returning to it just before his flock flew north. The idea that a lie doesn’t matter if it doesn’t hurt anyone (voiced by a bear) seems plausible. But Oscar’s brother Otto, upset that he’s lost his leadership position among the young ospreys to Oscar, nearly drowns when he tries to prove himself by attempting to catch a strong and wily trout. And if ospreys believe the wolf leader’s self-serving claim that Oscar’s feat was easy, and “it would be a great idea if all you ospreys stayed through the winter,” the results could be disastrous. Oscar summons his courage and meets with the elders to tell the truth. In the end, Oscar understands that being honest is more important than heroism. Polansky lays out the complications of Oscar’s conundrum well; it’s not quite as simple as lie versus truth, especially in light of Oscar’s history of being ostracized for fear of heights. Young readers will appreciate the elders’ compassionate response. In a few cases, however, Polansky misrepresents ospreys for the sake of his fable. The birds rarely form large flocks in winter, for example. Also, it’s unfortunate to replicate human sexism in Otto’s comment that his sister Oprah is “no competition….She was just a girl.” (Female ospreys are generally larger than males.) The story is bolstered by Rosow’s black-and-white ink illustrations. Expressive and scribbly, as when a tangled cloud of frustration overhangs Oscar, these are somewhat reminiscent of Jules Feiffer’s work, but with more compact line work and an original flair.

A charming tale about deceit’s tangled web with textured, kinetic illustrations.

Pub Date: March 5, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-72830-112-9

Page Count: 48

Publisher: AuthorHouse

Review Posted Online: July 10, 2019

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL FICTION

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DISTANT SHORES

by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2002

Soft-focus story moves right along with few surprises. This time around, Hannah avoids the soap-opera complications of her...

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Another middle-aged mom in a muddle.

After years of false starts and big hopes, Elizabeth’s ruggedly handsome husband Jack, a former football star, just landed a spot as a sportscaster on national news. He still loves her, even though much younger women are giving him come-hither looks. Heck, he doesn’t want to betray the love of his life after she helped him kick drugs and stuck by him even when he was a struggling has-been. And won’t it seem hypocritical if he fools around with his sexy assistant while he does in-depth reporting on a rape case involving a famous basketball center? Well, he fools around anyway. Elizabeth, nicknamed Birdie, knows nothing of this, but she withdraws from Jack when her hard-drinking, salt-of-the-earth father has a stroke and dies. Now no one will call her “sugar beet” ever again. Time to return home to Tennessee and contend with Anita, the sort-of-evil stepmother so trashy she wears pink puffy slippers all day long. Naturally, it turns out that Anita actually has a heart of gold and knows a few things about Birdie’s dead mother that were hushed up for years. Mom was an artist, just like Birdie, and an old scandal comes to light as Anita unrolls a vibrant canvas that portrays her secret lover. Perhaps, Birdie muses, her mother died of heartbreak, never having followed her true love or developed her talent. Has she, too, compromised everything she holds dear? Hoping to find out, Birdie joins a support group that promises to reconnect confused women with their passion. She and Jack separate, prompting a how-dare-you fit from their grown daughters. Will Birdie fly her empty nest? Will she go back to college for a degree in art? Will her brooding watercolors ever sell?

Soft-focus story moves right along with few surprises. This time around, Hannah avoids the soap-opera complications of her previous tales (Summer Island, 2001, etc.).

Pub Date: July 1, 2002

ISBN: 0-345-45071-X

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Ballantine

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2002

Categories:

GENERAL FICTION

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TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

by Harper Lee ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 11, 1960

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A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.