While ultimately it may not entirely work as story or history, Krebs offers a glimpse into a part of human culture most youngsters—or oldsters—may not know at all. In rhyme, she tracks China’s Silk Road, evocatively used these days as a metaphor for all kinds of cross-cultural memes, as a kind of exotic school chant. There’s a running chorus, “We’re riding on a caravan, a bumpy humpy caravan,” and there’s the first-person plural narrative, also rhymed, from Xi’an to Kashgar as silks are traded for wool, rice for bread. The yearlong trek ends at Kashgar’s Sunday market, which still exists today. The colorful pictures, made with bits of silk brocade and marbled paper collage as well as watercolor, show many kinds of costume and many ages and genders of caravan travelers. The pictures are busy with animals and wagons, desert and mountains. Author’s notes cover some background, but no sources are given. Adult readers will probably yearn for more information, but children will enjoy the bouncing rhythm and the intricate images. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 1-84148-343-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
From the woolly mammoth to the Indricotherium, the largest land mammal ever, paleontologist Brown describes ten extraordinary, but now extinct, mammals, plus the surviving Homo sapien [sic]. Each double-page spread includes a colored illustration of the mammal in its environment, pronunciation of its name and a short description, usually emphasizing its eating habits. The last page illustrates and describes the work of paleontologists, although that word is not used. An author’s note explains the time covered in this survey, which is ordered for dramatic effect, not for chronology. This is straightforward information, presented in an interesting and accessible package for developing readers, although they might find the table of contents more helpful if all the pages were numbered. In a series aimed at offering high-interest stories, this more than fills the bill, and is a welcome accompaniment to The Day the Dinosaurs Died (May 2006) by the same team. (Nonfiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-06-053053-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
With his knowledge of currencies and gift for languages, Salomon filled a vital niche in the American Revolutionary War. Ever the staunch patriot, he bought and sold goods, secretly worked for the Sons of Liberty, bribed a Hessian guard to escape hanging by the British, helped finance the struggling American cause and attended services at a Philadelphia synagogue. His thanks from the newly formed nation were honorary; none of the loans and funds he advanced was paid back. Both the author and illustrator’s approach in this cheerful picture-book biography are geared to younger readers. Almost everyone shares a rather large and round nose, even the dog. The colorful, full-page art imparts a near-comical feeling that is matched by the conversational tone of the text. Oddly, when recounting all the languages he spoke, Rubin does not include Yiddish—the language of many Eastern European Jews. Not a scholarly or in-depth selection, but certainly an entertaining read for young history buffs. (author note, artist note, glossary, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 5-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2007
ISBN: 0-8109-1087-X
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2007
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