Less well known than their alligator cousins, crocodiles live in the United States too, although not in abundance: Approximately 2,000 have been counted by airplane. In this intriguing new entry in a body of more than 100 books about the natural world, wildlife observer Arnosky describes canoeing with his wife through mangrove swamps in South Florida and seeing 20 crocodiles. Interwoven with the personal narrative is considerable information about these formidable reptiles. Detailed acrylic paintings accompany the text. Individual crocs are shown in context, with the time, weather and tide of each sighting noted. These portraits cross the gutter, separated from a column of text by a mangrove stem. Other illustrations add information, demonstrating the differences between crocodiles and alligators and identifying other inhabitants of this ecosystem. Arnosky ends with a song about his trip—words and music—that can be heard on the accompanying DVD, which also includes videos of the Arnoskys’ journeys and the artist at work. Pair this excellent introduction to the species with his new novel, The Pirates of Crocodile Swamp (2009), for a toothy treat. (Informational picture book. 7-10)
Pub Date: March 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-439-90356-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2009
This is rather a silly story, and I don't believe children will think it particularly funny. A paper hanger and painter finds time on his hands in winter, and spends it in reading of arctic exploration. It is all given reality when he receives a present of a penguin, which makes its nest in the refrigerator on cubes of ice, mates with a lonely penguin from the zoo, and produces a family of penguins which help set the Poppers on their feet.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1938
ISBN: 978-0-316-05843-8
Page Count: 139
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1938
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
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