Biting off far more than she can chew, Thomas crams mini-disquisitions on baseball’s history, gear, play, rules, strategies, physics, statistics, jargon, stars, stadiums, and more into arrays of variously sized and colored boxes, supported by a mix of unevenly informative photos and cartoons. Though language and visuals are carefully nonsexist, the resulting barrage of superficial information not only occasionally swerves into misinformation—fastballs do not “shoot toward home plate in a straight line”—but leaves a few bases uncovered too, such as the ins and outs of pinch-hitting, the screwball pitch, the Hall of Fame, and the role of the Closer. Thomas supplies no sources for further information, and doesn’t carry her tale beyond the 2002 season. Young fans won’t encounter much here that they don’t already know; non-fans will simply be bewildered. (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: April 1, 2004
ISBN: 1-894379-60-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Firefly
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2004
Miranda’s book counts the monsters gathering at a birthday party, while a simple rhyming text keeps the tally and surveys the action: “Seven starved monsters are licking the dishes./Eight blow out candles and make birthday wishes.” The counting proceeds to ten, then by tens to fifty, then gradually returns to one, which makes the monster’s mother, a purple pin-headed octopus, very happy. The book is surprisingly effective due to Powell’s artwork; the color has texture and density, as if it were poured onto the page, but the real attention-getter is the singularity of every monster attendee. They are highly individual and, therefore, eminently countable. As the numbers start crawling upward, it is both fun and a challenge to try to recognize monsters who have appeared in previous pages, or to attempt to stay focused when counting the swirling or bunched creatures. The story has glints of humor, and in combination with the illustrations is a grand addition to the counting shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201835-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
The Pumpkin Book (32 pp.; $16.95; Sept. 15; 0-8234-1465-5): From seed to vine and blossom to table, Gibbons traces the growth cycle of everyone’s favorite autumn symbol—the pumpkin. Meticulous drawings detail the transformation of tiny seeds to the colorful gourds that appear at roadside stands and stores in the fall. Directions for planting a pumpkin patch, carving a jack-o’-lantern, and drying the seeds give young gardeners the instructions they need to grow and enjoy their own golden globes. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 1999
ISBN: 0-8234-1465-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
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