The Darlings (Kangaroos, 1993, etc.) open their book by explaining the need for human baby-sitters: ``Orangutan babies are cute and cuddly,'' they note, which is why ``greedy animal dealers'' capture the babies for sale, often killing mother orangutans in the attempt. Some orphans end up in Camp Leakey, in the rain forests of Borneo, where dedicated staff care for the orphans until they are old enough to survive in the wild (the authors note that the adult orangutans come back to visit, but whether this is continued dependence or not isn't clear). The text is loaded with anthropomorphisms (``wise-guy five- and six-year- olds think it is cool to slurp [milk] right from the bucket'') that some budding naturalists will find too sweet, but most children will enjoy the cluttered array of colorful, candid, full-color photos of babies grooming, playing, feeding, and mugging it up. A final page gives orangutan facts; on the dust jacket, readers are invited to adopt an orangutan orphan for $50 a year. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8027-8466-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1996
Aided by a platoon of magically talented companions found along the road, a simpleton has little trouble wresting the hand of a princess away from the grip of her reluctant father in this illustrated edition of a story from The Yellow Fairy Book. McDermott's elaborate, golden-toned paintings have an antique flavor, with figures in rich medieval dress and affected poses; the princess, a mere child, stands coyly by until the wedding feast, and is last seen gazing rapturously into her new bridegroom's confused face. The pictures, though superficially appealing, are not as lyrical as Uri Shulevitz's Caldecott winners in Arthur Ransome's Fool of the World and the Flying Ship (1968), yet capture the tale's mildly comic air nicely, mostly in eyes and facial features. It's just not enough reason to give this rendition preference. (Picture book/folklore. 7-9)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-688-11404-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
Young Annie formally joins her Yupik community by performing her first traditional dance during a gathering of the villagers, in a tale based on Winslow and Sloat's experiences as teachers along the Yukon River and the Bering Sea. As Annie nervously watches other dancers and remembers her recently passed grandmother Olga's instruction, readers will get a perceptive, unselfconscious look at how new and old commingle in modern potlatch; musicians pounding skin drums wear jeans and t- shirts, smiling faces sport eyeglasses, dancers in work shirts wave lovely fur and feather fans. The dances commemorate hunts, and in Sloat's lively full-page and three-quarter-spread paintings the animals themselves seem to rise up and join the action. At last it's Annie's turn, and as she dances a walrus hunt on a silver sealskin (which she later gives to a baby for her ``First Dance''), Olga's figure silently joins the group. Afterward, Annie's father offers everyone mittens, dishtowels, fish traps, ax handles candy, gum, and akutaq (Eskimo ice cream). Potlatch customs may differ from place to place, as the authors properly point out in a prefatory note, but the feeling behind them is universal, and comes through clearly here. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-88240-442-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1995
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