Future animal helpers of all sorts will be en-raptor-ed.
This new Animal Helpers book considers raptors that have been injured or need help and the people and centers that care for them.
While the basic definition of a raptor, or bird of prey, is glaringly missing, that is about the only information that seems to be absent from this detailed look at why raptors might need help, how people can provide care for them, and how the birds are either eased back into the wild or trained as ambassadors for wilderness-education programs. When a bird first arrives at a center, it is thoroughly examined with medical instruments and some clever techniques. Helpers monitor their patients daily, providing food, medicine and physical therapy, if needed, and watching to see if the birds can hunt successfully. Baby raptors need special care to ensure that they can be released into the wild. A final section brings the topic home to readers—“Would you like to work with raptors?”—and asks if they could/would do some of the helpers’ (sometimes-unpleasant) tasks. Full-color photographs throughout show the birds and their injuries, the medical staff at work and the recovering raptors. The backmatter extends the learning with activities and more information about raptor-center volunteers and what to do if you find a raptor needing help.
Future animal helpers of all sorts will be en-raptor-ed. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-62855-447-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Arbordale Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.
Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464268076
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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