A commendably effective and unvarnished presentation of wolf culling, for readers who are ready for it.
A wolf whose life is disrupted by culling struggles to survive in this picture book.
This is not a picture book for very sensitive young readers. Its subject matter, shooting wolves from helicopters, is raw. The story is told from the viewpoint of Spur, a young wolf who lives with her brother and their pack. Lacking food in the logged forest, the pack begins to travel to an unlogged grove in the mountains, when a “thunderfly” attacks. Aoyagi’s chilling double-page spread shows the ominous shadow of a helicopter hovering over the pack, and after the page turn, another double-page spread shows a bullet whizzing by Spur. Spur is struck in the paw, and the pack scatters. Alone, Spur eventually comes upon another wolf pack, which welcomes her, and readers learn about pack social structure as Robertson describes how Spur helps mind the young pups to gain trust and to pay her debt. Spur’s new pack begins to make its way to unlogged ground using the gravel logging road, and Aoyagi’s illustrations effectively contrast harmonious shapes of the pristine natural world with jagged shapes in the illustrations of logged forest, log trucks, and another helicopter. When the thunderfly comes again, Spur warns her new pack, and they reach the high ground safely, where Spur is reunited with her brother.
A commendably effective and unvarnished presentation of wolf culling, for readers who are ready for it. (author’s note, resources) (Picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-77164-341-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greystone Kids
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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