Heartening peek at moon bear rescue.
Rescued and rehabilitated by the Moon Bear Rescue Centre near Chengdu, China, an endangered, abused bear becomes the ambassador for forgiveness and survival in this true story.
Chinese moon bears sport a yellow band across their chests reminiscent of the crescent moon. Captured and imprisoned in small cages on bear farms, moon bears are exploited for bear bile, used in Chinese herbal medicines. When a truckload of rescued bears arrives at the Centre, caregivers notice one extremely thin, injured bear that they name Jasper. Following surgery, Jasper wakes up in a spacious cage where he can sit, stand and stretch. For the first time, he has plenty of food and water and is treated kindly. As he recovers, Jasper explores the indoor bear house and outside enclosure, where caregivers teach him to search for food, use his muscles and play. Eventually, Jasper becomes a “strong, robust, and happy bear,” able to forgive and trust humans. While focusing on Jasper and his rehabilitated spirit, the text alerts readers to Chinese bear farms and the good work Animals Asia has done to rescue and provide sanctuary for moon bears. With photographic realism, the luminous illustrations enhance this moving saga of Jasper’s journey, including amazing close-ups of his expressive face.
Heartening peek at moon bear rescue. (author & illustrator notes) (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: March 28, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58536-798-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2013
This well-intentioned effort falls short.
When Beatrix notices that bees have left their hollow-tree nest in her local park, she needs the town’s help to bring them back.
Bea walks to school through the park, where she discovers a nest of active bumblebees in a hollow oak tree. She is fascinated with the tiny creatures, and she visits the tree every day. But one day, the nest is silent; the bees are gone. She asks her teacher about it, but he doesn’t know why bees disappear. She notices the flowers around the oak tree have been cut down. She asks the school librarian, who helps her find books about bees. She learns all about bees—what they eat, how they pollinate, and what kinds of foods would stop growing without them—and that information is shared with readers. Bea makes a plan. In early spring, she plants wildflowers around the tree. She does her science report on bees, and she hands out seeds at school. Seedlings sprout all over town, and finally the bees return. The illustrations, which depict Bea as black, are colorful but largely redundant of the text. An endnote in small font and scientific language is appropriate for older readers, and the final page of labeled wildflowers is a lovely and useful finish. The story is paced well, and Bea is likable enough, but the book’s design lacks professional polish.
This well-intentioned effort falls short. (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: March 28, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7643-5699-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Schiffer
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
Most children will agree the book is “smafunderful (smart + fun + wonderful).” (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-10)
In this entertaining chapter book, the first in a series, readers meet kind Sir Sidney and the gentle performers and hands in his circus. But Sir Sidney is tired and leaves the circus under the management of new-hire Barnabas Brambles for a week.
That Sir Sidney is beloved by all is quickly established, presenting a sharp contrast to the bully Brambles. The scoundrel immediately comes up with a “to do” list that includes selling the animals and eliminating the mice Bert and Gert. (Gert is almost more distressed by Brambles’ ill-fitting suit and vows to tailor it.) Revealed almost entirely through dialogue, the put-upon animals’ solidarity is endearing. The story, like the circus train now driven by the Famous Flying Banana Brothers, takes absurd loops and turns. The art is fully integrated, illustrating the action and supplementing the text with speech bubbles, facsimile letters and posters, Brambles’ profit-and-loss notes, examples of Gert’s invented vocabulary and more. Brambles’ plans go awry, of course, and he gets his comeuppance. With Bert and Gert acting as his conscience, along with a suit from Gert that finally fits and a dose of forgiveness, Brambles makes a turnaround. Sensitive children may doubt Sir Sidney’s wisdom in leaving his animals with an unscrupulous man, and the closing message is a tad didactic, but that doesn’t blunt the fun too much.
Most children will agree the book is “smafunderful (smart + fun + wonderful).” (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-61620-244-6
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
