Bowen (Stranded on Plimoth Plantation 1626, 1994) makes a brave and not very successful effort to turn some two dozen of Kimble’s folk-art livestock portraits into a connected narrative. Seeking commissions, an itinerant 19th-century artist seems to follow an animal thief through a series of Vermont towns. After puzzling over such clues as hearing several animals utter “Ite-osh-urr,” and learning that no white animals are stolen, he solves the mystery at a county fair in Castleton, at which the culprit is revealed as a “whitewasher” attempting to put disguised livestock up for auction. The painter collects a reward, allowing him to realize a long-held dream of visiting Africa. Applying thin layers of paint to distressed antique wood, Kimble depicts big, bushy cats, dignified horses, and other creatures in simple, usually rural settings, sliding into whimsy with a proud rooster decked out in red, white, and blue, then closes with a spread of elephants, giraffes, and the like. Children will enjoy the individual pictures, but next to such folk-art showcases as Barbara Ann Porte’s Chickens! Chickens! (1995) and Black Elephant with a Brown Ear (in Alabama) (1996), this comes off as a rambling, wordy contrivance. (Picture book. 8-10)
Pub Date: May 31, 2001
ISBN: 0-06-028408-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
A fun-if-flimsy vehicle for science lovers.
A fifth grade girl brings her love of chemistry to the school play.
Kate loves science so much she’s determined to breathe fire. Of course she knows that she needs adult supervision, and so, with her science teacher’s help, Kate demonstrates an experiment with cornstarch and a blowtorch that nearly sets her teacher’s cactus on fire. Consequences ensue. Can someone who loves science as much as Kate does find pleasure spending her fall break at drama camp? It turns out that even the school play—Dragons vs. Unicorns—needs a chemist, though, and Kate saves the day with glue and glitter. She’s sabotaged along the way, but everything is fine after Kate and her frenemy agree to communicate better (an underwhelming response to escalating bullying). Doodles decorate the pages; steps for the one experiment described that can be done at home—making glittery unicorn-horn glue—are included. The most exciting experiments depicted, though, include flames or liquid nitrogen and could only be done with the help of a friendly science teacher. Biberdorf teaches chemistry at the University of Texas and also performs science-education programs as “Kate the Chemist”; in addition to giving her protagonist her name and enthusiasm, she also seems represented in Kate-the-character’s love of the fictional YouTube personality “Dr. Caroline.” Kate and her nemesis are white; Kate’s best friends are black and South Asian.
A fun-if-flimsy vehicle for science lovers. (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-11655-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PLB 0-06-027720-3 A broadly comic, slapstick mystery. Seymour Sleuth is called to Borneo where Dr. Irene A. Tann (an orangutan) is searching for the Black Flower of Sumatra, which will cure hiccups. But her quest is being sabotaged’sand in the sugar bowl, knots in the underwear—and threatening notes are arriving. The intrepid Seymour and his faithful assistant and photographer Abbott Muggs search for clues and interview the other members of the camp: a reporter, a local guide, and Dr. Tann’s assistant. Among the clues: chocolate smudges on the notes, and a pin with someone’s initials. Seymour solves the mystery, accompanies the band through the monkey’s maze where they find the Black Flower and another surprise. All the characters are animals and the text is in Sleuth’s notebook printing, with photographs by Muggs attached along with realia like the map of Borneo and their plane tickets. It’s very lightweight, doesn’t take itself too seriously, and gives readers a funny first taste of some of the well-loved elements of mysteries. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: May 31, 1999
ISBN: 0-06-027719-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1999
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