Readers will have to suspend some realities of the animal kingdom, but may still enjoy this somewhat charming look at nature.
A duck encounters a sly, determined fox in a marsh setting.
On vividly illustrated pages, readers follow a duck through his day, gliding through the reeds, feasting on weeds and relishing the sun–with happy insects completing the idyllic scene. Lurking in the background, however, is a red fox waiting to surprise his unsuspecting prey. The duck doesn’t notice his predator at first, focusing instead on a beautiful butterfly, but soon sees the overbearing fox and his menacing sharp teeth. The fox takes aim and lands on the duck’s back–the resulting flurry of feathers begins to choke the fox, who begs the duck for help. Seeing a way out of his dilemma, the wise duck thwacks the fox’s head and back, clearing his throat. The fox then lets the duck go his way–hence the book’s title. Autumn arrives in a riot of colors, and the duck sees a V-shaped group of his brethren flying above. He spreads his wings, joins the troop and heads south. After the cold winter, duck returns to the marsh and is swimming with some baby ducks when he notices fox, still up to his scheming tricks. The fox’s target this time is a duckling–the duck saves the small bird by landing on the fox’s back and forcing him to let go. After a reprimand, the fox agrees to leave the ducklings alone. Weis draws on her rural childhood experience and her current Wisconsin home when she crafted this naturalistic tale. Still, some of her rhyming verse may be too mature for the children likely to be this book’s target audience, both in content and structure. Still, the text pairs well with the occasionally awkward illustrations and keeps the narrative moving at a comfortable pace. The animal characters and colorful pictures will have young children interested whether reading in a classroom setting or at home.
Readers will have to suspend some realities of the animal kingdom, but may still enjoy this somewhat charming look at nature.Pub Date: July 28, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4196-9726-5
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Bishop’s spectacular photographs of the tiny red-eyed tree frog defeat an incidental text from Cowley (Singing Down the Rain, 1997, etc.). The frog, only two inches long, is enormous in this title; it appears along with other nocturnal residents of the rain forests of Central America, including the iguana, ant, katydid, caterpillar, and moth. In a final section, Cowley explains how small the frog is and aspects of its life cycle. The main text, however, is an afterthought to dramatic events in the photos, e.g., “But the red-eyed tree frog has been asleep all day. It wakes up hungry. What will it eat? Here is an iguana. Frogs do not eat iguanas.” Accompanying an astonishing photograph of the tree frog leaping away from a boa snake are three lines (“The snake flicks its tongue. It tastes frog in the air. Look out, frog!”) that neither advance nor complement the action. The layout employs pale and deep green pages and typeface, and large jewel-like photographs in which green and red dominate. The combination of such visually sophisticated pages and simplistic captions make this a top-heavy, unsatisfying title. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-590-87175-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
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
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