A charming introduction to the world of exotic cats and endangered species.
Whimsical watercolor pages alternate with stark black-and-white text in this story of a lost kitten working its way through the Big Cat section of the zoo, looking for its family.
On its journey, the kitten encounters a tiger, lion, cheetah, clouded leopard, puma, jaguar, bobcat and ocelot, noting similarities and differences between itself and each big cat. The tiger sends the kitten to the lion because the kitten lived in a group and lions live in prides. However, the lion soon hears the kitten purr and sends it off to the cheetahs, as cheetahs purr and lions don’t. Some featured traits, such as purring, are easy to understand, but others, such as proportion to size, may need further explanation for young readers, as the illustrations do not clearly reinforce the trait being highlighted. Also challenging is the fact that, perhaps due to their exotic nature, the cats answer the kitten’s simple questions with long, complex sentences. At the book’s conclusion, the kitten falls asleep in the tiger section, and the zookeeper’s daughter asks to take it home (though mistakes the feline for a baby tiger). Along the way, “Key Facts” sections give nitty-gritty information about cats, including their status on endangered species lists, though the author leaves it up to adult readers to explain the meaning of the term “endangered.” Major facts shared include population status (ranging from endangered to critically endangered to vulnerable), weight, life span (for wild creatures and those in zoos) and litter size; a world map shows each cat’s habitat. Although the narrative is simple enough for a child, some concepts are more appropriate for those at higher level of education. In this way, the target audience is unclear–while the layout resembles that of a transitional book, translating complicated sentences will require the help of an adult.
A charming introduction to the world of exotic cats and endangered species.Pub Date: March 3, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4196-8467-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Troubled teen meets totemic catalyst in Mikaelsen’s (Petey, 1998, etc.) earnest tribute to Native American spirituality. Fifteen-year-old Cole is cocky, embittered, and eaten up by anger at his abusive parents. After repeated skirmishes with the law, he finally faces jail time when he viciously beats a classmate. Cole’s parole officer offers him an alternative—Circle Justice, an innovative justice program based on Native traditions. Sentenced to a year on an uninhabited Arctic island under the supervision of Edwin, a Tlingit elder, Cole provokes an attack from a titanic white “Spirit Bear” while attempting escape. Although permanently crippled by the near-death experience, he is somehow allowed yet another stint on the island. Through Edwin’s patient tutoring, Cole gradually masters his rage, but realizes that he needs to help his former victims to complete his own healing. Mikaelsen paints a realistic portrait of an unlikable young punk, and if Cole’s turnaround is dramatic, it is also convincingly painful and slow. Alas, the rest of the characters are cardboard caricatures: the brutal, drunk father, the compassionate, perceptive parole officer, and the stoic and cryptic Native mentor. Much of the plot stretches credulity, from Cole’s survival to his repeated chances at rehabilitation to his victim being permitted to share his exile. Nonetheless, teens drawn by the brutality of Cole’s adventures, and piqued by Mikaelsen’s rather muscular mysticism, might absorb valuable lessons on anger management and personal responsibility. As melodramatic and well-meaning as the teens it targets. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2001
ISBN: 0-380-97744-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
A well-loved author brings together, on a Maine vacation, characters from two of her books. Peter's parents have assured him that though Sheila ("The Great") Tubman and her family will be nearby, they'll have their own house; but instead, they find a shared arrangement in which the two families become thoroughly intertwined—which suits everyone but the curmudgeonly Peter. Irrepressible little brother Fudge, now five, is planning to marry Sheila, who agrees to babysit with Peter's toddler sister; there's a romance between the grandparents in the two families; and the wholesome good fun, including a neighborhood baseball game featuring an aging celebrity player, seems more important than Sheila and Peter's halfhearted vendetta. The story's a bit tame (no controversies here), but often amusingly true to life and with enough comic episodes to satisfy fans.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1990
ISBN: 0-525-44672-9
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2000
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