In lucid color photos and a simple bilingual text, the work of 77-year-old Don Ricardo (``Tio Rico''), a Mexican craftsman who ``started creating pi§atas fifteen years ago when...making felt sombreros became too hard for him.'' Beginning with a small boy delivering some of Tio Rico's materials (old newpapers and paper bags), Ancona leads into a detailed depiction of making of an unusual swan pi§ata. Forming a shape of cardboard and banana leaves, incorporating a clay pot, and applying decorative covering are all explained so clearly—in both the text and the admirable photos—that readers will be able to follow up by making their own pi§atas (Ancona also offers some alternative construction methods). Creating a couple of other shapes and a party where one of them meets its intended end round out an attractive presentation. (Nonfiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: March 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-15-261875-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1994
IN THE NEWS
For shark fanciers, a look at a Los Angeles Natural History Museum exhibit, Sharks: Fact and Fantasy. Now touring the country, it includes models of large and small sharks, many of them swimming in simulated undersea settings. The text follows a group of young museum-goers as they examine shark teeth, fossil sharks, sharks in art, and a living shark embryo; shark anatomy, special adaptations, types of sharks, and some shark facts are also included. Photos are clear, colorful and engaging. Not comprehensive, but an attractive added purchase. Pronunciation guide; additional reading; index. (Nonfiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 23, 1991
ISBN: 0-395-57560-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1991
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Full-color illustrations of insects, some of them magnified as much as 10 or 20 times, demonstrate that it is possible to show things in a larger scale, but without providing much more information. Though a house spider magnified to 10 times its natural size may enthrall the browser, the prosaic text is only marginally successful in describing anatomy, life cycles, or habits of common spiders and insects like butterflies, moths, mayflies, beetles, grasshoppers. Scientific names are not given, and the index is sketchy and sometimes inaccurate: earwigs, silverfish, and fleas are all illustrated and discussed on pages 20 and 21, but only the earwig is indexed for those pages; fleas are not indexed at all, and silverfish are indexed for page 12, where they are not mentioned. Sloppy work. (Nonfiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-385-26396-1
Page Count: 45
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1992
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
