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GONE AGAIN PTARMIGAN

Name: GONE AGAIN PTARMIGAN
Author: Jonathan London
ISBN: 0-7922-7561-6

by Jonathan London & illustrated by Jon Van Zyle ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2001

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Spectacular paintings show the Ptarmigan, or Arctic grouse, through the seasons as he struggles to survive both the harsh climate and a host of predators. The tale begins with white and silvery scenes of the Arctic winter, with the snowshoe hare, lemming, and pure white Ptarmigan evading a lynx, snowy owl, weasel, and wolverine. In summer the Ptarmigan, wearing the dappled brown feathers that help the adult birds and chicks blend into the thick brush, faces still more predators. The artist provides double-paged layouts, using acrylic paints on Masonite board to capture the drama of the land and inhabitants, changing his palette for each season and animal. The snowy owl is white and silver against a silver-gray sky and pale, lemon moon. The red fox shimmers “flame colored in the low sun,” as he leaps amid the gold September leaves and slender, white tree trunks. In winter the ptarmigan huddles in the snow, blue and white against the iridescent northern lights. The Alaskan artist often includes thumbnail sketches inside the paintings to show details, a clutch of eggs, the feathered foot of the ptarmigan, a newly hatched chick. The lyrical text, with its recurring refrain, “Gone again ptarmigan,” conveys the author’s admiration for the hardy bird and builds excitement on each page. He concludes with additional facts. A solid nature title, with paintings that are a visual delight and a text that reads like poetry. (Nonfiction. 5-10)

Pub Date: April 1, 2001

ISBN: 0-7922-7561-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: National Geographic

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2001

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
HERE COMES SHOPKEEPER HIPPO
by Jonathan London ; illustrated by Gilles Eduar

- BOOK REVIEW
HERE COMES TRUCK DRIVER HIPPO
by Jonathan London ; illustrated by Gilles Eduar

- BOOK REVIEW
FROGGY FOR PRESIDENT!
by Jonathan London ; illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz

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BIG FOOT AND LITTLE FOOT

From the Big Foot & Little Foot series , Vol. 1

by Ellen Potter ; illustrated by Felicita Sala ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 10, 2018

A charming friendship story and great setup for future books.

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Curious about the Big Wide World outside his Sasquatch community, Hugo makes a friend who is of it.

Sasquatch Hugo’s bedroom is inside a cave and possesses the charming feature of a small stream running through it that he can sail his little toy boat on. It’s cool, but he yearns to see the Big Wide World. When he asks his smart friend Gigi if a Sasquatch might become a sailor, she says it’s possible but would be difficult—the primary rule of their people is to not be seen by Humans. Then, in everyone’s favorite Hide and Go Sneak class, which is held outside, a Human appears; Hugo laughs at the sight, drawing Human attention in a taboo-breaking mistake. Shortly after, Hugo’s toy boat floats into the cave with a Human toy—soon, it’s facilitating a pen-pal–type relationship that’s derailed when Hugo confesses to being a Sasquatch and Human Boone, a budding cryptozoologist, doesn’t believe him. How Hugo and Boone resolve this misapprehension and become friends in a joint search for the Ogopogo concludes this series opener. Potter keeps the third-person narrative tightly focused on Hugo’s perspective, and the details she uses to flesh out the Sasquatch world are delightfully playful. Sala’s drawings depict a homey Sasquatch cavern community, Boone as a freckled, white boy, and Hugo as a hairily benevolent behemoth.

A charming friendship story and great setup for future books. (final art unseen) (Fantasy. 5-9)

Pub Date: April 10, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-4197-2859-4

Page Count: 144

Publisher: Amulet/Abrams

Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
CENTRAL PARK GHOST
by Ellen Potter ; illustrated by Sara Cristofori

- BOOK REVIEW
SHARK IN THE PARK
by Ellen Potter ; illustrated by Sara Cristofori

- BOOK REVIEW
THE GOLDEN IMAGINARIUM
by Ellen Potter

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HENRY AND MUDGE AND THE STARRY NIGHT

From the Henry and Mudge series

by Cynthia Rylant & illustrated by Sucie Stevenson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1998

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Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)