bookshelf

Sign Posting Australia

Name: Sign Posting Australia
Author: Kaye Parker
ISBN: 978-1-941736-47-0

by Kaye Parker ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 10, 2015

Resembles a personal scrapbook; still, it may whet the would-be tourist’s appetite for exploring Australia.

bookshelf

Parker’s (See with Your Heart: Thoughts, 1996, etc.) photographic tour of a road trip she took around her native Australia.

In 2013, the author set out from Albany, her home on the southern coast of Western Australia, and drove counterclockwise around the continent with her partner, Doug, documenting the trip via photos of road signs, sites of interest, and natural beauty spots. “Many of the images within this book were taken from a moving vehicle so some may appear blurred,” she warns, but overall, the quality of the images is reasonably high. The nature photography, especially, is impressive; views of Natural Bridge and Glen Helen Gorge are particular standouts. Kakadu National Park is another highlight. Wildlife lovers will appreciate seeing pictures of kangaroos, crocodiles, and Australia’s many magnificent birds. Animals occasionally show up in delightfully unexpected places, like a small green frog huddled under a toilet seat. However, photos of random road signs, tourist information panels, and billboards don’t serve much purpose other than to chart the progress of Parker’s tour; this might have been better accomplished via an ongoing map tracing their route, chapter headings, or more extensive captions—not all scenes are identified. Commentary can lean toward overblown or poorly edited prose; e.g., “You are invited to step inside this book and to immerse yourself into a unique Australia that will surely capture your attention and imagination.” The layout could also be improved; the color photographs often overlap, sometimes obscuring content, which makes the book resemble a jumbled photo album. A couple of images are even repeated.

Resembles a personal scrapbook; still, it may whet the would-be tourist’s appetite for exploring Australia.

Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-941736-47-0

Page Count: 322

Publisher: Book Venture Publishing LLC

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2016

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

bookshelf

NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

bookshelf

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

bookshelf

TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

bookshelf

An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.