by Laurie Lears ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1999
A sweet story about a trapped goose cloaks this piece of bibliotherapy, as a boy with AD/HD learns to sit still for a very good cause. Lear’s book addresses the struggles children have paying attention in school and holding still; for her protagonist, Stephen, the admonishments of adults accompany most of his school day. After school, on a nature walk, Stephen is relieved to be away from all restrictions, where he can run and play freely. When he encounters a goose with its leg in part of a trap, with the chain dragging heavily on its foot, Stephen brings in his parents and authorities to help “Mr. Goose,” but the goose is too frightened. Next, Stephen attempts to trick the goose, but soon figures out that sitting still and feeding the gaggle of geese is the only way to gain their trust. When Mr. Goose comes close enough, Stephen wraps him in his own jacket, growing cold as he waits for help to come. The rescue is a success, the bird flies off, and Stephen gains confidence in his own abilities. Along with Ritz’s realistic pictures, the text is prettified and teacherly; absent is the heartbreaking frustration of AD/HD students and the adults around them, and Lears implies that if children just try harder, they can sit still, which isn’t always true. Real emotions comes through in the scenes of Stephen and his mother, and for some readers, that will be enough. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8075-8628-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1999
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by Tony Johnston ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2000
From Johnston (An Old Shell, 1999, etc.), poetic phrases that follow a ghostly barn owl through days and nights, suns and moons. Barn owls have been nesting and roosting, hunting and hatching in the barn and its surroundings for as long as the barn has housed spiders, as long as the wheat fields have housed mice, “a hundred years at least.” The repetition of alliterative words and the hushed hues of the watercolors evoke the soundless, timeless realm of the night owl through a series of spectral scenes. Short, staccato strings of verbs describe the age-old actions and cycles of barn owls, who forever “grow up/and sleep/and wake/and blink/and hunt for mice.” Honey-colored, diffused light glows in contrast to the star-filled night scenes of barn owls blinking awake. A glimpse into the hidden campestral world of the elusive barn owl. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-88106-981-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000
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by Margery Facklam ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 1999
The gastronomical oddity of eating winged and many-legged creatures is fleetingly examined in a superficial text that looks at animals and people who eat insects. Bugs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner are gobbled up by a shrew, an aardvark, a bear, a gecko, and others. The rhyme scheme limits the information presented; specificity about the types of insects eaten is sacrificed for the sake of making the rhyme flow, e.g., a mouse, a trout, a praying mantis, a nuthatch, and a bat are repeatedly said to eat “bugs” or “insects” in general, rather than naming the mayflies, moths, or grubs they enjoy. An author’s note explains her choice of the word bugs for all crawly things; an addendum takes care of other particulars lacking in the text. Long’s exacting pen-and-ink style lends a naturalistic perfection to this visual playground of the insect world, enhancing this glimpse of vital link in the food chain. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-88106-271-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
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