“The great state of Texas is waiting for you. / Come travel the land and meet people, too. / Then pick a direction—north, south, east, or west— / and you can decide which parts you like best.” So begins this rhyming introduction to 16 Texan sites and cities, from Amarillo (“There are plenty of cattle, but few armadillo”) to Big Bend National Park. Laudatory and cliché-riddled as a promotional brochure, the short stanzas (one per spread) promise visitors cowboys and cattle, grapefruit and roses in faltering, sing-song rhymes: “Due west in the desert is grand old El Paso, / where tumbleweeds whirl through as swift as a lasso.” The limited text often tries to convey too much, too perkily, and just ends up baffling. (The eight-page appendix fleshes out each entry, if readers persevere.) Spearing’s full-bleed colored-pencil illustrations on textured paper sometimes have a static, paint-by-number look, especially the people. Sweeping rural and urban landscapes contrast with boxed insets highlighting Texas icons from oil wells to a portrait of Sam Houston. A bumpy ride through the Lone Star State. (Informational picture book. 7-10)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-57091-725-7
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: June 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Despite some bright spots, the lapses in information limit this book’s effectiveness.
Celebrations the world over involve parades, foods, traditional clothing, masks, songs, and games.
Information on 14 festivals, country maps, small photos, sidebars with holiday traditions (in the appropriate language, with pronunciations), and instructions for a craft or a recipe make up the jam-packed left-hand page of each spread. Colorful, detailed cartoon illustrations appear opposite. There are certainly interesting facts and activities, but careless errors (including a typo to be corrected in the second printing) and a decided slant toward Western Europe (five countries) diminish the volume’s value. Opening with a monthly timeline, it offers a basic explanation of the lunar calendar, but this is not integrated into the overall schematic. This spread also includes a note about adult help for crafting and cooking. Many of the holidays are commonly celebrated in many places, and the author’s failure to point out that Eid al-Fitr, for instance, is celebrated around the globe and not just in Egypt is a sad, missed opportunity. A few festivals are not often presented in books of this ilk, such as Bhutan’s Dangpai Losar (New Year) and Laternenfest, held on St. Martin’s Day in Germany. The last spread brings children from the different countries together and asks readers to create their own celebrations. Sadly, given the glancing notice necessitated by the format, there are no further resources included.
Despite some bright spots, the lapses in information limit this book’s effectiveness. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 7-10)Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4549-3213-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In this rousing, as-historically-accurate-as-possible recreation of the Pony Express’s first ride, Spradlin introduces readers to the crazy-wild brainchild of three businessmen to expedite mail over the near-2,000 miles from St. Joseph, Mo., to Sacramento, Calif. Accompanied by Johnson’s artwork, which has the energy of rolling thunder and the colors of a sunset, and with an engaging sense of drama and urgency, the author follows the riders over the varied landscapes they covered, through the heavy weather they encountered and past the occasional hostile reception they received from Native Americans (though his bell-clear author’s note clarifies that hostilities were rare). When he can introduce factual material—the names of riders, the number and character of station stops, the price of $5 for ½ ounce—he does so with a light hand to keep the pedagogy at a distance. For all its iconic status, the Pony Express lasted for only a year and a half before the transcontinental telegraph drew a sleeve across its windpipe, but it was an inventive enterprise full of bodacious frontier spirit, which this book plays to the hilt. (bibliography, further reading, map, timeline) (Informational picture book. 7-10)
Pub Date: March 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8027-9652-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2010
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