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MUKTAR AND THE CAMELS

Name: MUKTAR AND THE CAMELS
Author: Janet Graber
ISBN: 978-0-8050-7834-3

by Janet Graber and illustrated by Scott Mack ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2009

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Muktar’s parents died in Somalia, but he has not forgotten his nomadic life, caring for the camels that were the source of his family’s livelihood. When three camels laden with books walk into the courtyard of the rural Kenyan orphanage where he lives now, the unhappy boy, always lost in memories and chided by his teacher for laziness, finds a new way of using his skills: He will become the new assistant to Mr. Mohamed, the man who manages the unusual bookmobile. The author tells the story succinctly and without any audience-limiting brutality about the war that has orphaned Muktar. Mack’s oils do justice to the orphanage setting and the camels that deliver the books, but the human figures—especially their faces—are sometimes awkward and stiff. Muktar’s enthusiasm, knowledge and talent with camels will attract young readers, and the story of the unusual delivery system will engage those who delight in knowing that children everywhere benefit from free library services. (maps, author’s note) (Picture book. 5-9)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-8050-7834-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WHITE WITCH
by Janet Graber

- BOOK REVIEW
RESISTANCE
by Janet Graber

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BIG FOOT AND LITTLE FOOT

From the Big Foot & Little Foot series , Vol. 1

by Ellen Potter ; illustrated by Felicita Sala ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 10, 2018

A charming friendship story and great setup for future books.

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Curious about the Big Wide World outside his Sasquatch community, Hugo makes a friend who is of it.

Sasquatch Hugo’s bedroom is inside a cave and possesses the charming feature of a small stream running through it that he can sail his little toy boat on. It’s cool, but he yearns to see the Big Wide World. When he asks his smart friend Gigi if a Sasquatch might become a sailor, she says it’s possible but would be difficult—the primary rule of their people is to not be seen by Humans. Then, in everyone’s favorite Hide and Go Sneak class, which is held outside, a Human appears; Hugo laughs at the sight, drawing Human attention in a taboo-breaking mistake. Shortly after, Hugo’s toy boat floats into the cave with a Human toy—soon, it’s facilitating a pen-pal–type relationship that’s derailed when Hugo confesses to being a Sasquatch and Human Boone, a budding cryptozoologist, doesn’t believe him. How Hugo and Boone resolve this misapprehension and become friends in a joint search for the Ogopogo concludes this series opener. Potter keeps the third-person narrative tightly focused on Hugo’s perspective, and the details she uses to flesh out the Sasquatch world are delightfully playful. Sala’s drawings depict a homey Sasquatch cavern community, Boone as a freckled, white boy, and Hugo as a hairily benevolent behemoth.

A charming friendship story and great setup for future books. (final art unseen) (Fantasy. 5-9)

Pub Date: April 10, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-4197-2859-4

Page Count: 144

Publisher: Amulet/Abrams

Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
CENTRAL PARK GHOST
by Ellen Potter ; illustrated by Sara Cristofori

- BOOK REVIEW
SHARK IN THE PARK
by Ellen Potter ; illustrated by Sara Cristofori

- BOOK REVIEW
THE GOLDEN IMAGINARIUM
by Ellen Potter

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HENRY AND MUDGE AND THE STARRY NIGHT

From the Henry and Mudge series

by Cynthia Rylant & illustrated by Sucie Stevenson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1998

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Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)