by Etta Kaner & illustrated by Pat Stephens ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2005
“If you were an animal and moved to a new home, you would have migrated,” says Kaner in her introduction, then proceeds using this imprecise definition to describe movements of lemmings, whales, terns, dragonflies, butterflies, salmon, eels, newts, sea turtles and more. Reasons for animal migrations and mechanisms are complex and varied. This superficial treatment, without sources or notes, puzzles more than it enlightens. When the tail of a palolo worm detaches with its egg case, is the tail really migrating as the author states? Is a fish migrating when it uses its swim bladder to move up and down in the water? A few marginal experiments are included, for example: “Beautiful blubber” demonstrates how fat insulates whales on their two-month journey south to breeding grounds. And a simple experiment with cupcake papers and an electric light models thermal air currents. Illustrations are colorful, but not drawn to scale. This important topic deserves a more thoughtful treatment. (index) (Nonfiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 2005
ISBN: 1-55337-547-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2005
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by Rebecca Bond ; illustrated by Rebecca Bond ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 7, 2015
Ironically, by choosing such a dramatic catalyst, the author weakens the adventure’s impact overall and leaves readers to...
A group of talking farm animals catches wind of the farm owner’s intention to burn the barn (with them in it) for insurance money and hatches a plan to flee.
Bond begins briskly—within the first 10 pages, barn cat Burdock has overheard Dewey Baxter’s nefarious plan, and by Page 17, all of the farm animals have been introduced and Burdock is sharing the terrifying news. Grady, Dewey’s (ever-so-slightly) more principled brother, refuses to go along, but instead of standing his ground, he simply disappears. This leaves the animals to fend for themselves. They do so by relying on their individual strengths and one another. Their talents and personalities match their species, bringing an element of realism to balance the fantasy elements. However, nothing can truly compensate for the bland horror of the premise. Not the growing sense of family among the animals, the serendipitous intervention of an unknown inhabitant of the barn, nor the convenient discovery of an alternate home. Meanwhile, Bond’s black-and-white drawings, justly compared to those of Garth Williams, amplify the sense of dissonance. Charming vignettes and single- and double-page illustrations create a pastoral world into which the threat of large-scale violence comes as a shock.
Ironically, by choosing such a dramatic catalyst, the author weakens the adventure’s impact overall and leaves readers to ponder the awkward coincidences that propel the plot. (Animal fantasy. 8-10)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-544-33217-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2015
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by Seymour Simon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2003
Simon tackles his latest natural disaster in trademark but not very modern style. Information on hurricanes is clearly presented but poorly organized, and lacks any sense of drama or story. Aimed at the same age group as Dorothy Souza’s Hurricanes (1996) and Patricia Lauber’s Hurricanes: Earth’s Mightiest Storms, this falls short of both, often going into too much pedantic detail—the wind speeds of tropical depressions versus tropical storms—while failing to put needed perspective on some of the more eye-popping statistics. A hurricane can move more than a million cubic miles of atmosphere per second—but the naked numbers are essentially meaningless to students who think of millions in terms of ballplayers’ salaries and can’t imagine cubic miles at all. Photos of smashed houses and boats in front yards add excitement, but others—plain clouds?—detract; some are very grainy when blown up to the requisite full page. Formulaic and a numbing read-aloud. (Nonfiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-688-16291-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2003
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