Follow-up to All My Patients Have Tales (2009).
Veterinarian Wells returns with another collection of warm, humorous tales of the animals he treats and the people who own and care for them. He introduces us to a cross section of critters who come through his office, or who he has to visit. The author doesn’t just deal with dogs and cats, but also sheep, goats, llamas, cattle, horses, donkeys and mules, most of which require outpatient visits. The stories are as much about the human owners as about the animal patients; for pet owners, Wells provides insight into a vet's view of the world. The phrase “he's never tried to bite anyone in his life” has special meaning for them, and the author includes a story of a group displaying and discussing their wounds and scars. Dealing with the unexpected—llamas who don’t want their nails trimmed, teenagers looking to get high on feline distemper vaccine, a herd of Scottish Highland cattle trying to protect a calf from the vet—makes for some high-tension reading. And then there are the owners, reluctant to upset the vet with fears of what might happen. Wells includes tips, perhaps not practical for everyone, but entertaining, how Vicks vapor rub obscures smell and helps ewes adopt, not reject, orphaned lambs. There are also moving stories of difficult births and life-saving efforts in nighttime winter snows. Wells weaves in the struggles of his own life and marriage with his wife's successful fight against recurrent cancer, and their adoption of an orphan from Korea. Good-natured, inviting animal tales.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-312-66812-9
Page Count: 256
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2011
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
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