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DAY LIGHT, NIGHT LIGHT

Name: DAY LIGHT, NIGHT LIGHT
Author: Franklyn M. Branley
ISBN: 0-06-027294-5

WHERE LIGHT COMES FROM

by Franklyn M. Branley & illustrated by Stacey Schuett ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 28, 1998

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For this Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science entry, originally published in 1975, Schuett brings an artistic spirit to Branley's facts about the origins of light: A child perched in a treehouse discovers light from a luminous jar of fireflies; candles on a birthday cake illustrate the concept of light coming from sources that are hot. Within a text that is somewhat repetitive, Branley offers elementary explanation of properties of light: reflective light, speed of light, and what happens inside an electric light bulb. Sunlight, candlelight, flashlight, campfire, lanterns, and stars are discussed. The mention of simple experiments, e.g., placing a white plate in a dark room, provides hands-on opportunities for very young learners. A snug atmosphere and palette are reminiscent of some scenes in Schuett's own Somewhere in the World Right Now (1996, not reviewed). (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-8)

Pub Date: Feb. 28, 1998

ISBN: 0-06-027294-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1997

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
MISSION TO MARS
by Franklyn M. Branley & illustrated by Y Kelley

- BOOK REVIEW
IS THERE LIFE IN OUTER SPACE?
by Franklyn M. Branley

- BOOK REVIEW
FLOATING IN SPACE
by Franklyn M. Branley & illustrated by Y Kelley

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RAPUNZEL

adapted by Rachel Isadora & illustrated by Rachel Isadora ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2008

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Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your dreads! Isadora once again plies her hand using colorful, textured collages to depict her fourth fairy tale relocated to Africa. The narrative follows the basic story line: Taken by an evil sorceress at birth, Rapunzel is imprisoned in a tower; Rapunzel and the prince “get married” in the tower and she gets pregnant. The sorceress cuts off Rapunzel’s hair and tricks the prince, who throws himself from the tower and is blinded by thorns. The terse ending states: “The prince led Rapunzel and their twins to his kingdom, where they were received with great joy and lived happily every after.” Facial features, clothing, dreadlocks, vultures and the prince riding a zebra convey a generic African setting, but at times, the mixture of patterns and textures obfuscates the scenes. The textile and grain characteristic of the hewn art lacks the elegant romance of Zelinksy’s Caldecott version. Not a first purchase, but useful in comparing renditions to incorporate a multicultural aspect. (Picture book/fairy tale. 6-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2008

ISBN: 978-0-399-24772-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2008

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
DO I HAVE TO WEAR A COAT?
by Rachel Isadora ; illustrated by Rachel Isadora

- BOOK REVIEW
MY DOG LAUGHS
by Rachel Isadora ; illustrated by Rachel Isadora

- BOOK REVIEW
I JUST WANT TO SAY GOOD NIGHT
by Rachel Isadora ; illustrated by Rachel Isadora

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STINK AND THE MIDNIGHT ZOMBIE WALK

From the Stink series

by Megan McDonald & illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 13, 2012

This story covers the few days preceding the much-anticipated Midnight Zombie Walk, when Stink and company will take to the...

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An all-zombie-all-the-time zombiefest, featuring a bunch of grade-school kids, including protagonist Stink and his happy comrades.

This story covers the few days preceding the much-anticipated Midnight Zombie Walk, when Stink and company will take to the streets in the time-honored stiff-armed, stiff-legged fashion. McDonald signals her intent on page one: “Stink and Webster were playing Attack of the Knitting Needle Zombies when Fred Zombie’s eye fell off and rolled across the floor.” The farce is as broad as the Atlantic, with enough spookiness just below the surface to provide the all-important shivers. Accompanied by Reynolds’ drawings—dozens of scene-setting gems with good, creepy living dead—McDonald shapes chapters around zombie motifs: making zombie costumes, eating zombie fare at school, reading zombie books each other to reach the one-million-minutes-of-reading challenge. When the zombie walk happens, it delivers solid zombie awfulness. McDonald’s feel-good tone is deeply encouraging for readers to get up and do this for themselves because it looks like so much darned fun, while the sub-message—that reading grows “strong hearts and minds,” as well as teeth and bones—is enough of a vital interest to the story line to be taken at face value.