From the North American bald eagle to the Australian brush-turkey, the nesting habits of 40 different birds are briefly explored. Kelly’s conversational style conveys the breadth of these often-unusual habitats, noting the nests’ various materials and the methods used to support baby birds. Engaging facts support the broad subject matter: The sociable weaver, for instance, may live with more than 200 others in a nest that can last as long as 100 years. The industrious layout of this eclectic collection encourages browsing. A wavy typeface (endearingly called “Lizard”) and solid lines integrated within these busy double-page spreads serve to organize the layout. Mixed-media illustrations convey the diversity among these feathered flocks; watercolors, gouache, acrylics and pen-and-ink utilize texture and soft colors to capture their subjects. A map highlights each bird’s locale, and a concluding activity encourages young scientists to observe and assist birds in their natural environments. Though the addition of source notes and an index would aid the budding researcher, this offering will intrigue many young ornithologists. (Informational picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: March 15, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2102-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-81175-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998
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