Back from Beyond the Burning Lands (1971) Luke is installed as Prince of Winchester (one of the almost medieval cities which has arisen in the geographically and genetically deranged post-Disaster world). But his stubborn pride causes a mutiny among the Captains when he orders the unfaithful Lady Blodwen and her lover Edmund imprisoned, and Luke becomes an exile — journeying to the home of the Seers (possessors of the ancient scientific knowledge disguised as a spiritualist religion). The army Luke gathers to regain his kingdom is based on a Combination of the Seers' technology (Sten guns and mortars) and the soldiers provided by his Wilsh father-in-law-to-be (whose code of honor demands that he aid in Blodwen's recovery). Though Luke is momentarily moved to pity by the Christians' willingness to sacrifice themselves in front of his mortars, it's obvious that he intends to use the newly revived machines to build a Wilsh power base. Once again, since Luke's static and unsympathetic personality inhibits emotional involvement, it's the exotic backgrounds (mixing castles and cinema screens, kings and polymufs) and the game of figuring out what the author is trying to say about Science that must be relied upon to hold the reader's interest.
Pub Date: April 1, 1972
ISBN: 0020425740
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1972
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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