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
Predictable as a sunrise, this sequel to Life Riddles (1993) explores the emotional effects of seeing AIDS kill a beloved relative. Sixth grader Crystal is feeling low, especially since sister Janelle is already a published author and best friend Shawna stars in dance recitals. The news that Uncle Joe is flying in cheers her; when he arrives, he seems to be the same, still dashing out to make snow angels with her, but as months go by he loses weight and energy, and finally tells Crystal about his AIDS. Crystal wonders why she feels so numb; at last she explodes at a class bully, who tearfully reveals that his mother had AIDS, too. ``Enemies become friends paired when simultaneous feelings are shared,'' summarizes her aunt, a librarian with an endless fund of aphorisms. When Joe dies (offstage), Crystal suddenly discovers that she's inherited his artistic talent, and sees, out her window one morning, a snow angel with no footprints around it. Although this spans the gap—strictly in terms of reading level—between picture books like Leslea Newman's Too Far Away To Touch (1995) and the still-growing phalanx of pre-teen and YA novels, the unlikely plot, superficial character development, and near-total lack of information about the disease make it a shaky bridge, at best. (Fiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8050-4114-1
Page Count: 116
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
More than a little reminiscent of The Little Prince, with a touch of Louis Slobodkin’s classic Space Ship Under the Apple Tree, this is a dialogue between a visitor from space and an eight-year-old boy waiting at home while his mother is in the hospital giving birth; it links informal ink drawings with a series of ingenuous philosophical ruminations and explanations of natural processes. Joe is alone when a flash of light leaves Mika, a diminutive Mumbo from planet Eljo, hanging by his heels in the apple tree. Very like a toddler in appearance, clothing (pajamas), and habit of sucking his thumb when thinking, Mika views the world with wide-eyed wonder, asking deceptively simple questions (“If [a cat] can’t talk, does that mean it can’t think?”), learning from Joe about dinosaurs, fish, and the history of life on Earth, teaching him that nothing is “ordinary,” and that there are great forces at work in the universe. The illustrator places small human, alien, and animal figures on the surfaces of tiny worlds, or within and around lines of text; Mika and Joe sit cozily together on rock and rooftop, until Mika is replaced at the end by Michael, Joe’s new brother. Gaarder (Sophie’s World, 1994) keeps the tone light, but brings up plenty of worthwhile, often knotty ideas. (Fiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-374-32948-6
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1998
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