A good guide for beginners and browsers, but not suitable for research.
This chatty guide to money works to make the subject appealing to middle-schoolers but is regrettably short on sourcing.
Vermond first defines what money is: More than just dollars and cents, money is "an agreement between people in an economy." Since we can't steal the things we need, she explains, there are multiple ways to make money. Money can be earned by jobs that reward workers for their time and special skills. Alternatively, you could be an entrepreneur and take on the risk and rewards of starting your own business. Of course, there's also imaginary money, aka credit, and its associated perils of debt and interest. The importance of saving is highlighted, from simple self-control and delayed gratification to investing and the advantage of compound interest. The text zips along, accompanied by two-color line art and frequent sidebars, with information on such topics as ancient money and interviews with financial experts. The author has a talent for explaining finance in an enthusiastic, easy-to-understand manner, yet with no works cited or references listed, there are questions about where these facts and figures come from.
A good guide for beginners and browsers, but not suitable for research. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-926973-19-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2012
Homer himself would be agog.
A highlight-reel version of Odysseus’ journey home, framed as a graphic novel and plastered with fantastically dramatic pop-ups and other special effects.
Opening with Penelope working on a tapestry that transforms into an entirely different scene with the drop of a step-flap, the tale plunges on into the many escapes of Odysseus and his crew: from Polyphemus, from Circe, the Sirens and (after visiting the land of the dead) from Scylla and Charybdis. Then it’s on to Ithaca for a slaughter of suitors with a bow strung with real string, peace at last after Zeus rears up to get everyone’s attention with a foil thunderbolt and a final clinch between Odysseus and Penelope as their connubial bed levitates to reveal the deep tree roots beneath. Ita (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 2008) tells the tale in balloons of colloquial dialogue (“Where have you been for the last twenty years?” “Well, sweetheart, it’s an awfully long story”). Well-defined sequential panels give way to larger scenes of Polyphemus getting it in the eye with a sharpened log, of a ship with oars that row frantically with pulls of a tab, of Circe turning a man into a pig in a particularly masterful bit of paper engineering and other climactic moments. As transitions range from quick to nonexistent and the order in which gatefolds should be lifted isn’t always evident, some familiarity with the original is recommended—but even newbies will be riveted by this nonstop, high-energy retelling.
Homer himself would be agog. (Pop-up classic. 10-13)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4027-5867-6
Page Count: 8
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Though previously published (in English only) by a small press as Everyone Knows Gato Pinto (1992) and also available in...
Eight tales of tricksters and magical transformations are given a Southwestern setting by a veteran storyteller and paired to Spanish versions on facing pages.
Despite occasional common folkloric elements, the stories are not just regional variations on “Cinderella” and other well-worn chestnuts. In “If I Were an Eagle / Si Yo Fuera Águila,” for instance, an orphan lad with the ability to turn himself into various animals rescues a kidnapped princess from a giant but marries the shepherd’s daughter who saves him from a bear. A village comedian subsequently answers three supposedly impossible questions to save a beloved priest in “What Am I Thinking? / ¿Qué Estoy Pensando?” and in “Caught on a Nail / Enganchado en un Clavo,” a clever young woman fools three persistent suitors into terrifying one another. Other tales feature a magical ring that sows dismay by doubling and redoubling the wearer’s strength, a spotted cat who leads a young third brother to riches and (in the title story) a coyote and an old dog who put aside their traditional enmity to become allies. Each tale opens with a realistically detailed black-and-white scene to set the comic or dramatic mood.
Though previously published (in English only) by a small press as Everyone Knows Gato Pinto (1992) and also available in audio versions, these wise and witty tales continue to repay fresh encounters. (source notes) (Folktales. 10-12)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-935955-21-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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