Poetry and short informative paragraphs combine to celebrate both the elegance and the natural history of the American egret. Haiku, free verse, rhyming couplets and even a limerick are just some of the forms Yolen masterfully uses to engage readers on both aesthetic and scientific levels. Gorgeous photography completes this carefully designed literary science piece with scenes of the egret’s daily life. Stemple captures the egret’s movements as the light of each part of the day, from the yellow-orange glow of sunrise to midday pink to late afternoon sunset blue to evening purple, is reflected on its snow-white feathers. Both the poetry and the brief fact-filled vignettes explain how egrets walk, eat, fly and preen and how their plumes, so lace-like, were once coveted for decorating clothes and hats. A final poem muses on the future of this great wading bird in a country filled with polluted wetlands. A stunning combination of scientific and ecological knowledge offered through a graceful fusion of lyrical and visual media. (Informational picture book/poetry. 8-10)
Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59078-650-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2009
With a curmudgeonly rat as his reluctant tour guide, a boy explores a pet store in which all the denizens are for sale. Exotic animals abound; the selection includes a giant tortoise, pelican, platypus, skink, koala bear, and even an anteater. While the boy shops, the little rat desperately tries to convince him that he is the best bargain. “ ‘Who wants a koala that doesn’t like leaves?’ said the rat. ‘Or an anteater that won’t eat its ant? I’m not fussy! I’ll eat . . . ANYTHING!’ “ A portion of the page is missing, as if chomped by the overeager rodent. Inkpen adroitly introduces numerals 1—10; every animal is priced consecutively from 1õ for the rat up to 10õ for an entire bag of “assorted little brown creatures,” with the ultimate bargain a Komodo dragon for 25õ. Readers gain a last lesson in addition as they learn that the entire contents of the store can be had for $1.00—precisely the amount in the boy’s pocket. Colorful, detailed illustrations depict the creatures with realism. Humor, well-placed lift-up flaps and the antics of the rat conspire to make this thoroughly likable. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-531-30130-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
Poor Miss Rosemary. Inspired by the example of Gertrude, The Cow Who Wouldn’t Come Down (1993), George the pig is trying to fly, play music, and drive. The results are uniformly disastrous: “It’s a known fact pigs don’t drive,” scolds Miss Rosemary after the inevitable crash. The animals are as expressive as the people in Johnson’s tidy, clean-lined country scenes; George’s cheery confidence comes through as clearly as the local sheriff’s irritation does. At last Miss Rosemary and Gertrude put their heads together, drawing up a successful scheme to get George to behave like a perfect pig—just as Magnolia the goose decides to burst into oinks. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-531-30136-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
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