In breathless, present-tense prose, O’Connor (Snail City, not reviewed, etc.) tells the tale of the chance rediscovery of thousands of over-sized figurines created more than 2,200 years ago to guard the tomb of China’s first emperor. She goes on to fill in the historical background with a portrait of the tyrannical, driven Emperor Qin Shihuang, and supplies plenty of large color photos, giving viewers a chance to contemplate the clay soldiers’ close, silent ranks, their amazing realism (each of the more than 7,000 men and horses is an individual, with unique features), and the miracle of their survival. Even though the author shows none of the site’s ongoing excavation or restoration, and despite the mistaken claim in the blurb that there are no other titles on the topic for young readers, this makes a stimulating introduction, along with Caroline Lazo’s equally fine, and still in print Terra Cotta Army of Emperor Qin (1993), to a monument rightly billed as one of the true wonders of the ancient world. (author’s note, index, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-670-03152-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Printed on heavy, coated stock, with wide floral borders adding further notes of luxury, these three complete tales from Kipling’s classic, with attendant verses, get both sumptuous packaging and a generous helping of small, finely detailed illustrations. This treatment not only captures the action and exotic locales, but, most expressively, the power and beauty of the wolves, Bagheera, Balloo and the other animals among whom young Mowgli is raised. As always, Kipling’s measured prose and poetry is a treat to read alone or, especially, aloud; here the story of Mowgli’s education in the Law of the Jungle, his first try at living among humankind, his kidnapping by the Monkey People, and his triumph over the tiger Shere Khan will keep young audiences rapt. An ideal replacement for the edition of these tales illustrated by Inga Moore (1992), and other edited versions. (Fiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: June 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-7636-2317-2
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2005
Though usually cast as the trickster, Coyote is more victim than victimizer, making this a nice complement to other Coyote...
Two republished tales by a Greco-Cherokee author feature both folkloric and modern elements as well as new illustrations.
One of the two has never been offered south of the (Canadian) border. In “Coyote Sings to the Moon,” the doo-wop hymn sung nightly by Old Woman and all the animals except tone-deaf Coyote isn’t enough to keep Moon from hiding out at the bottom of the lake—until she is finally driven forth by Coyote’s awful wailing. She has been trying to return to the lake ever since, but that piercing howl keeps her in the sky. In “Coyote’s New Suit” he is schooled in trickery by Raven, who convinces him to steal the pelts of all the other animals while they’re bathing, sends the bare animals to take clothes from the humans’ clothesline, and then sets the stage for a ruckus by suggesting that Coyote could make space in his overcrowded closet by having a yard sale. No violence ensues, but from then to now humans and animals have not spoken to one another. In Eggenschwiler’s monochrome scenes Coyote and the rest stand on hind legs and (when stripped bare) sport human limbs. Old Woman might be Native American; the only other completely human figure is a pale-skinned girl.
Though usually cast as the trickster, Coyote is more victim than victimizer, making this a nice complement to other Coyote tales. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-55498-833-4
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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