In a patchy but engaging short novel, a child cures a hurt of her own by battering down the emotional walls an injured man has erected around himself. A year after her father died of a heart attack while fishing in his beloved river, Lily watches fences going up around her former home, and resolves that they won’t keep her out. She loves—and blames—the river, and finds, in the house’s new owner, someone who is just as ambivalent about the sky: Paraplegic ex-test pilot T.R. Tracy considered the sky safe before a crash robbed him of the use of his legs. Lily ignores T.R.’s attempts to fend her off, and they quickly become friends. Although Lily doesn’t make T.R. a “project,” readers will understand how she draws him out of his self-imposed shell; on the other hand, a string of activities with her friend Laura is only weakly connected to the main story, and T.R., though wheelchair-bound, gets around with suspicious ease. The supporting characters are sketchy, but Lily is as irresistible as a force of nature, and the northern Michigan setting has almost as much presence. In the end, T.R. accepts an offer to test aircraft adapted for disabled pilots, and Lily discovers that her grief is no longer quite so sharp. The story never really comes together, but readers will appreciate Lily’s take- no-prisoners style of dealing with adults. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: May 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-8028-5155-X
Page Count: 106
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A brief, visually appealing introduction to garbage—where it comes from, where it goes. Dumps, landfills, incinerators, and a variety of recycling projects (both individual and commercial) are clearly described and illustrated with full-color photos. Especially interesting is a chapter on how an MRF (materials recycling facility) sorts and processes trash by using sorting machines that shake, blow, and apply magnets and eddy currents. Compost machines, methane gas recovery, making and recycling plastic soda bottles, and the problem of hazardous wastes are all briefly described. Specialized terms appear in italics and are defined both in the text and in the glossary (``lechate,'' ``biodegradable,'' ``white goods''). A very readable first look at an important topic. Annotated list of additional reading; organizations to write for more information; index. (Nonfiction. 10-12)l
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1991
ISBN: 0-395-56436-0
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1991
The author of The Blizzard of 1896 (1990) and other tall tales of the Old West goes back to an even older West for the story of an Anasazi boy with an unusual friend—an affectionate bear cub that dances when it hears music, bringing good cheer and, without fail, rain as well. Though Bird admits that his anthropology is not up to snuff, and his language has a modern sound (after the bear performs for some hunters, ``they laughed and had a great time''), the bear is an appealing animated character that behaves—and is treated—like a hairy young child. The plot tends to wander, but its mildly humorous course— punctuated by dramatic incidents (a charging buffalo, a violent thunderstorm)—holds interest. Slight but appealing, a fantasy with an unusual—and particularly well-realized—setting and small illustrations resembling southwestern petroglyphs. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: April 27, 1993
ISBN: 0-87614-748-1
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1993
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