A biography of Moss, whose dedication to elephant research pegs her as a true scientist, despite her lack of formal training. Pringle (Everybody Has a Bellybutton, p. 1227, etc.) profiles Moss; her eye-opening research on elephants changed the way people view them, and brought them protection from poachers. Although this book focuses mainly on Moss's life, it provides some information on elephants, too: Moss observed how elephants survived droughts, and how the wisdom of a female matriarch could benefit an entire elephant family. Clear full-color photographs show the elephants and their human observers. This is an inspirational book for those interested in animal-related vocations; for serious research on elephants, Moss's own books may be more suitable. (map, further reading, index) (Biography. 10-12)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-689-80142-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
From McDonald (Tundra Mouse, 1997, etc.), a haunting, dramatic glimpse of the Bone Keeper, a trickster with special transformational powers. Some say Bone Woman is a ghost; some envision her with three heads that view past, present, and future simultaneously. Most, however, call her the “Skeleton Maker” or “Keeper of Bones.” Chanting, shaking, moaning, and wailing, the Bone Keeper is frenzied as she sorts bones; not until the end of the book are readers told, in murmuring lines of free verse, what the Bone Keeper is creating in her mysterious desert cave. Out of the darkness, a wolf springs to life, leaps from the cave, howling, a symbol of resurrection and proof of life’s cyclical nature. Also keeping readers guessing as to the Bone Keeper’s final creation are Karas’s paintings; they, too, require that the final piece of the puzzle be placed before all are understood. The coloring and textures embody the desert setting in the evening, showing the fearsome cave and sandy shadows that wait to release the mystery of the bones. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-7894-2559-9
Page Count: 30
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
In this Easy-to-Read entry is a dog large enough to chase Clifford the big red dog right out of town. Tiny is a dog who is the exact opposite of what his name implies. When he gets dirty, his owner—a small boy—has to search to find a receptacle big enough to scrub him down. A pail, the sink, and even the bathtub are dwarfed by the presence of this giant hound; only the little boy’s wading pool will do. The child gets Tiny washed, only to be dirtied himself when his pooch discovers a new mud puddle to play in. Both boy and dog come clean in the end. Davis’s playful illustrations romp alongside the beginning reader text, using an easy, loping giganticism to portray this big pet’s appeal. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-670-87962-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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