For a young Jewish boy growing up in Tsarist Russia, wanting to become an artist is not likely to meet with enthusiastic parental support. In this case, the boy is the young Marc Chagall, an aspiring artist with a gift for seeing beauty in the ordinary. He observes, “We all need art to show us what is truly beautiful and important in the world . . . We need art to show us how to live, how to be alive in the world.” Marc’s parents obviously relent and allow their son to study art, and the rest is history. For this fictionalized account, Kimmel takes only the bare bones of Chagall’s story—the Russian village, the influential art teacher, the worried parents—to get across what is truly important: to follow your dream. Simple black-and-white drawings have a childlike quality as if done by the young Chagall. (author’s note, bibliography) (Fiction. 6-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-375-83253-6
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2007
At ``Step 2'' in the useful ``Step into Reading'' series: an admirably clear, well-balanced presentation that centers on wolves' habits and pack structure. Milton also addresses their endangered status, as well as their place in fantasy, folklore, and the popular imagination. Attractive realistic watercolors on almost every page. Top-notch: concise, but remarkably extensive in its coverage. A real bargain. (Nonfiction/Easy reader. 6-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-679-91052-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
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