A work bound to provide food for thought and perhaps for the table.
A manifesto advocating local microfarming as an ecological necessity in today’s changing world is chock-full of fascinating information.
The first part presents a reasoned, organized explanation for increasing the availability of food for the ever-growing populations of cities around the world. Much of this food, especially fruits and vegetables, can be grown, at least in part, within or near the city in individual plots, community gardens or re-purposed larger-scaled venues, leaving traditional rural farms for grains and grasses that need large tracts of land. Subsequent sections discuss ways and means by which people can create their own gardens. Dyer employs a conversational, accessible tone that speaks directly to her readers and includes practical, real-life examples that can be implemented at home, school or in the community. Facts and data come thick and fast, copiously illustrated with photographs, maps and drawings and enhanced with captions, sidebars and appropriate quotes. Boldfaced headings are worded with flair, and illustrative material is visually appealing, colorful and varied. Most young readers will probably not read it from cover to cover in one sitting but will scan it, stopping as something catches their interest. They might even decide to get out there and start digging.
A work bound to provide food for thought and perhaps for the table. (preface, glossary, online resources, index) (Nonfiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-55451-425-0
Page Count: 84
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2012
A prolific reporter of paranormal phenomena strains to bring that same sense of wonder to 12 “transposed”—that is, paraphrased from interviews but related in first person—accounts of extraordinary experiences. Some feats are more memorable than others; compared to Bethany Hamilton’s return to competitive surfing after having her arm bitten off by a shark and Mark Inglis’ climb to the top of Mount Everest on two prosthetic legs, Joe Hurley’s nine-month walk from Cape Cod to Long Beach, Calif., is anticlimactic. Dean Karnazes hardly seems to be exerting himself as he runs 50 marathons on 50 consecutive days, and the comments of an Air Force Thunderbirds pilot and a military Surgeon’s Assistant in Iraq come off as carefully bland. The survivors of a hurricane at sea, a lightning strike and a tornado, on the other hand, tell more compelling stories. Most of the color photos are at least marginally relevant, and each entry closes with a short note on its subject’s subsequent activities. Casual browsers will be drawn to at least some of the reconstructed narratives in this uneven collection. A reading list would have been more useful than the superfluous index, though. Fun, in a scattershot sort of way. (Nonfiction browsing item. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4027-6711-1
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
“Il était une fois…” French Canada’s version of beanstalk-climbing Jack gets a rare outing in three tales refashioned from old sources by a veteran storyteller. Preserving the lightest touch of a French inflection—“Cric, crac, / Parli, parlons, parlo. / If you won’t listen, / Out you go”—Andrews sets her naïve but teachable everylad up against a trio of opponents. There is a grasping princess who tricks him out of a magic belt, moneybag and trumpet; a murderous little man who sets him on numerous impossible tasks after beating him at marbles; and a harsh seigneur who insists on chucking his intellectual daughter’s suitors into the dungeon when they prove to be less clever than she. Thanks to hard work, a little magic and a winning way with the ladies, Ti-Jean ultimately comes out on top in each episode while never allowing lasting harm to come to anyone and is ever magnanimous in victory. Illustrated with frequent scribbly, lighthearted ink-and-wash scenes and vignettes, these stories read with equal ease silently or aloud and offer a winning introduction to a universal folk character. Equally charming is the source note, in which Andrews describes the origins of the tales and how she worked with them. “Sac-à-tabac, / Sac-à-tabi. / The story’s ended, / C’est fini.” (Folktales. 9-11)
Pub Date: April 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-88899-952-8
Page Count: 72
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2011
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