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
With good humor, Christelow (The Great Pig Escape, 1994, etc.) effectively marshals accessible, kid-pleasing drawings with cartoon balloons of dialogue and a straightforward narrative to give youngsters an understanding of how a book gets from writers to readers. She begins by charting the parallel experiences of next- door neighbors who just happen to be authorsa male African- American writer of chapter books and a female picture book creator. The first big questionhow do authors get their ideas?is answered inventively. The man's dog (Rufus) and the woman's cat (Max) get into a tussle and both authors draw inspiration from the event. Much of the pleasure of this information-packed book lies in the warm, unique way it addresses such problems as what authors do when they get stuck, how long it takes for a book to be illustrated, or to get through production. It even includes words on the review process: ``Some reviews are wonderful! Some are not.'' This book is wonderful. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 21, 1995
ISBN: 0-395-71124-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Goodman follows the midtown area of New York City from the present day backwards, in irregular increments, to the Paleozoic era, providing “snapshots” of evolution along the timeline. The conclusion conveys the notion of constant transformation coming full circle beyond the present—when things will be different still. Goodman keeps the information about each historic era brief but engaging: “20,000 years ago . . . glaciers were so thick they would have buried today’s tallest buildings.” Conceptually, this measures the brevity of human history (four double-paged spreads) against the expanse of natural history (the rest of the work). For a generation that is sensitive to global warming, Christiansen’s pastels dramatize the climatic shifts, which could scarcely be more extreme. Full-bleed illustrations contain the words “170 million years ago . . . ” at the upper left and “but on this spot . . . ” at the lower right, giving readers both patterned repetition and a feeling of expectancy when turning the pages. With several points of access, this is not only illuminating but intriguing. (timeline, acknowledgements) (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-688-16913-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2004
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