A well-written book in the Native American series, covering the Inuit of northern and western Alaska and the northern coast of Canada, and providing a colorful and educational sketch of their habitat and lifestyle. Fleischner (The Apaches, 1994, not reviewed) quickly recaps the 5,000-year history of the Inuit, then describes in detail the traditional housing, clothing, hunts, rituals, feasts, and so on; readers need not be researching or have any prior interest in the subject to be drawn into the book, which is filled with full-color and black-and-white photographs. The only flaw—no map—becomes more significant as the author steadily emphasizes the European exploration of the Canadian shore. A charming fable follows the main text. (chronology, glossary, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1995
ISBN: 1-56294-587-4
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Millbrook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
Still another book that hinges on a child's abandonment by a flighty mother. Like Mama in MacLachlan's Journey (p. 1013), Reanna indulges her wanderlust, leaving Skye, 11, with Grandpa on the Idaho farm where Reanna grew up. Skye has always traveled with her single mother as she moved from one pickup job to another, but now Reanna has married Bill and the two of them have gone off on motorcycles, ostensibly to research a book about odd place names, without admitting to Skye how long their absence will be. Skye plots to follow them in Reanna's old car, but the battery is dead; while she's contriving to replace it, she adopts a family of kittens, gets to know some great aunts, cousins, and a little boy next door—whose history is rougher than hers, but who now lives with a pleasant, earth-motherly friend—and begins to make an accommodation with her gruff but good-hearted grandfather. When she finally gets the car started, she runs over one of the kittens by mistake; the way everyone rallies round to comfort her helps her decide to stay with Grandpa when Reanna turns up and, ungraciously, agrees to take Skye with her. Skye's story doesn't have Journey's power or its elegant craft (few books do), but it's an accessible, warm-hearted tale about finding a home in an extended family of well-individualized characters. Thoughtful and solidly entertaining. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-590-43448-9
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1991
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A close look at the life and habitat of these ancient, seriously endangered animals. Patent describes the two kinds of African elephants (savanna and forest), then reports on recent efforts to save elephants endangered by poaching and habitat destruction. The color photos on every page are appealing, though some are dark or muddy, while careless captioning limits their usefulness (e.g., in the captions both kinds of elephants are simply ``elephants,'' leaving readers to ponder which is shown). Useful information on a high-interest topic, but a lesser effort from this prolific science writer. Index. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Dec. 15, 1991
ISBN: 0-8234-0911-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1991
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