by Josephine Paker ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 1992
Colorful international look (part of the ``The Millbrook Arts Library'') at percussion instruments, both ancient and modern. Layout is inviting, with double spreads devoted to different topics—``Friction drums,'' ``Music in the world of Islam,'' etc. Other sections discuss what ``percussion'' means and how we hear sounds, and give directions for making simple drums. Brevity sometimes leads to confusion—e.g., in trying to explain the relationship between note values and beats in a measure—but an attractive first look, handsomely illustrated with color photos reproductions, etc. Other titles: Music from Strings; Rattles, Bells and Chiming Bars; Flutes, Reeds, and Trumpets. Glossary; index. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1992
ISBN: 1-56294-093-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Millbrook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1992
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by Kwame Alexander ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 5, 2016
A satisfying, winning read.
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Nick Hall is a bright eighth-grader who would rather do anything other than pay attention in class.
Instead he daydreams about soccer, a girl he likes, and an upcoming soccer tournament. His linguistics-professor father carefully watches his educational progress, requiring extra reading and word study, much to Nick’s chagrin and protest. Fortunately, his best friend, Coby, shares his passion for soccer—and, sadly, the unwanted attention of twin bullies in their school. Nick senses something is going on with his parents, but their announcement that they are separating is an unexpected blow: “it’s like a bombshell / drops / right in the center / of your heart / and it splatters / all across your life.” The stress leads to counseling, and his life is further complicated by injury and emergency surgery. His soccer dream derailed, Nick turns to the books he has avoided and finds more than he expected. Alexander’s highly anticipated follow-up to Newbery-winning The Crossover is a reflective narrative, with little of the first book’s explosive energy. What the mostly free-verse novel does have is a likable protagonist, great wordplay, solid teen and adult secondary characters, and a clear picture of the challenges young people face when self-identity clashes with parental expectations. The soccer scenes are vivid and will make readers wish for more, but the depiction of Nick as he unlocks his inner reader is smooth and believable.
A satisfying, winning read. (Fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-57098-6
Page Count: 320
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
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by Jerry Pallotta ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2000
Who is next in the ocean food chain? Pallotta has a surprising answer in this picture book glimpse of one curious boy. Danny, fascinated by plankton, takes his dory and rows out into the ocean, where he sees shrimp eating those plankton, fish sand eels eating shrimp, mackerel eating fish sand eels, bluefish chasing mackerel, tuna after bluefish, and killer whales after tuna. When an enormous humpbacked whale arrives on the scene, Danny’s dory tips over and he has to swim for a large rock or become—he worries’someone’s lunch. Surreal acrylic illustrations in vivid blues and red extend the story of a small boy, a small boat, and a vast ocean, in which the laws of the food chain are paramount. That the boy has been bathtub-bound during this entire imaginative foray doesn’t diminish the suspense, and the facts Pallotta presents are solidly researched. A charming fish tale about the one—the boy—that got away. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-88106-075-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000
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