This photographic alphabet book, focusing on letters found in nature rather than in manufactured objects, invites comparison with Jerome Wexler's imaginative investigations of the tiny. Here, two lines of verse and a full-color photograph of a butterfly or moth lie opposite a full-page, magnified detail of its wing that contains the shape of a letter. Each letter is also represented calligraphically and in a highlighted word of the text. Some of these latter samples are more felicitous than others: W for wing is quite apt, while X for exquisite is less than lovely. At the end of the book, solidly factual general information about butterflies is followed by a parade of short bios of the lepidoptera in these pages, collected over 25 years and in 30 countries. The book, inspired by Sandved's poster of the same name, is a happy conjunction of elements: surprisingly informative and visually pleasing. (Nonfiction. 4+)
Pub Date: March 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-590-48003-0
Page Count: 66
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1996
No scandal mongering or shady PACs weasel their way into Stier’s bright-eyed story of running for the office of president. This will be an innocent and charmingly earnest race with lots of different kids tossing their hats into the ring. (Forget for the moment that candidates must be at least 35 years old, one of the bevy of facts presented at the outset.) Stier follows the candidates, and Avril draws them in all their crayon guilelessness, as they brood over entering the race, move from caucus to convention, ponder their positions and spread their wares before the public. Whiners need not apply, as Stier lets it be known that getting your message across is a long, tough job. But the story is refreshing, too; no one is pandering or posturing. Honesty is a virtue here, as is being concerned and well-scrubbed. This is a campaign to yearn for, all issues and not a spin doctor in sight. It’s enough to make you consider lowering the age requirement by about 30 years. (Picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-8075-3543-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In another of his explorations of the traversal between A and B (Shortcut, 1995, and a detour: Why the Chicken Crossed the Road, 1987), Macaulay takes the scenic route and concludes, perhaps, that all roads really do lead to Rome. This bird's-eye view of a grand city's architecture begins when a maiden ties a message onto the leg of a homing pigeon. Before readers can say S.P.Q.R., the pigeon has made the unusual decision of abstaining from the shortest path between two points in favor of a whirling flight through Rome. Macaulay has created a pen-and-ink sketchbook of ancient buildings in the modern city, stringing together black-and-white drawings of landmarks with the thinnest of red lines (to indicate the pigeon's flight). Along with labeled monuments are more mundane sightings: On the street, a dog drinks from a fire hydrant while conversations take place in cafes and on cell phones. The views of Rome are so encompassing that by the time the pigeon delivers its message to a draughtsman hunched over a drawing, readers have almost forgotten the bird's errand. "Yes" is the answer to an unstated question that hangs, tantalizingly, in the air. An aerial map of Rome ("not to scale") and brief, conversational descriptions recap the highlights of the pigeon's trip. In it, Macaulay confirms that his is not a profession, nor an obsession, but a love affair of sketching and architecture. (Picture book. 7-11)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-395-82279-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1997
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