Writing in a form that falls somewhere between free verse and rhymed prose, Yolen continues her tour of world ecosystems (Welcome to the Green House, 1993, etc.) with a catalogue of flora and fauna in Florida’s Everglades. As in the previous “Welcomes,” Regan not only portrays each leaf and creature in exact, natural detail, but expertly captures a sense of place, strongly conveying the light, the sky at different times of day, even the look and feel of the air. Though the artist does not directly depict the violence that threads through Yolen’s narrative—an osprey “with dagger beak and nail, / guts a fish / from head to tail,” a red belly turtle “comes too close— / and is alligator dinner,” a kite is “alert for the snail / which it breaks with its beak,” and so on—these two again have collaborated on an effective consciousness raiser for younger children, as evocative as it is informative. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-399-23221-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
From the tunnels of ants to the Chunnel connecting England with France, this lively tour of constructed tunnels highlights their variety as it explores their uses and manufacture. Hunter (Into the Sky, 1998, etc.) urges readers along, sprinkling a compact text with entertaining facts—“If you take a train from New York to Los Angeles, you’ll go through 65 mountain tunnels”—and asides. Miller’s cross-sectional illustrations are rendered with solid colors, long, straight lines, and sharp color boundaries, for an orderly, layered look that conveys plenty of activity without seeming cluttered. Younger fans of the wheeled vehicles that are visible here in profusion will want repeat readings. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-7)
Pub Date: March 15, 1999
ISBN: 0-8234-1391-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
Ignoring a big dragon’s repeated complaints, one, two, three…up to ten little dragons make increasing amounts of sleep-preventing noise in this bouncy counting rhyme. Using a flat silkscreen style for his digitally created cartoon scenes, Long supplies a swelling band of spiky, pop-eyed youngsters with toys and musical instruments, along with such modern noisemakers as a flat-screen television, to keep the increasingly irritated parent (or maybe older sib?) wakeful. Modeled on “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed” and like chestnuts, the written narrative offers both a reasonably regular cadence and some deft alliteration: “Three dancing dragons learn to tap, tap, tap. / One groggy dragon groans, ‘I want to nap!’ ” At last the miscreants tumble into bed themselves—only to find the tables turned by their larger cavemate’s spread-filling snores. A lighthearted take on a topic of common domestic interest, equally suited to sharing one on one or with a larger audience. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2010
ISBN: 970-0-545-16557-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2010
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