TWO HAWK DREAMS

Name: TWO HAWK DREAMS
Author: Lawrence L. Loendorf
ISBN: 978-0-8032-6488-5

by Lawrence L. Loendorf ; Nancy Medaris Stone ; illustrated by David Joaquín ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014

The frights are sharp but just momentary disturbances for a cozy, closely knit clan whose traditional way of life seems only...

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A seasonal move down from the mountains proves adventurous for two Shoshone children in this short historical tale set in what will become Yellowstone National Park.

His seventh summer coming to an end, Two Hawk reluctantly stays behind when his father and older brother go to gather in the big net used to trap bighorn sheep, then, with the rest of the family, he prepares for the annual journey to the lowlands. Three incidents make the trip a memorable one: A mountain lion attacks; Two Hawk’s sister Pipit is nearly swept away in a river; and following vague rumors of white men riding “big dogs,” a strange “hairy-face man” with a fire shooting “stick” comes by for a meal—leaving a handful of beautiful beads in thanks and odd marks on a strip of bark: “J. Colter 1807.” Presumably this is John Colter, a historical figure, the first European in the area, though as there is no historical note, readers are deprived of this or, in fact, much other context. Along with references to water spirits, a magpie brings Two Hawk dreams of flight, timely help, and at the end, promises of long life and wisdom. This mystical thread is echoed in nine full-page paintings from Joaquín that depict physical events, the dream and a Coyote tale that Two Hawk’s father tells, all in the same feathery, indistinct style.

The frights are sharp but just momentary disturbances for a cozy, closely knit clan whose traditional way of life seems only distantly threatened by change. (Historical fiction. 9-11)

Pub Date: April 1, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-8032-6488-5

Page Count: 88

Publisher: Univ. of Nebraska

Review Posted Online: June 9, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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THE BOXCAR CHILDREN MYSTERIES

BOX SET: BOOKS 1-12; ENHANCED EDITION

by Gertrude Chandler Warner ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

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Separate e-book versions of the entire Boxcar Children series are or soon will be available, but this “bundle” makes an economical way to pick up the first 12. The classic (“dated” to use a more cogent term) original line-drawn illustrations have been preserved in each mystery, but the type size and style can be altered to suit, and each opens with an image of a recent color cover. The “enhanced version” adds four professionally produced, two-minute-or-shorter video clips. These feature fulsome appreciations of the books and their original author by employees and volunteers from Connecticut’s Gertrude Chandler Warner Museum, overviews of the museum and some of its memorabilia—plus a 500-or-so–word biography of Warner and 10 photos of the author, her home and the railroad station that inspired the stories. The absence of Gertrude Chandler Warner and The Boxcar Children, the 1997 biography of the author by Mary Ellen Ellsworth, represents a missed opportunity. As it is, the extra content is no more than a lagniappe but provides at least a glimpse of the series’ live-wire creator for both young readers and nostalgic adult fans. (Enhanced e-book. 9-11, adult)

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: 978-1-4532-1117-5

Page Count: 2813

Publisher: Whitman

Review Posted Online: April 9, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2011

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL...FOREVER!

by R.L. Stine ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 19, 2011

Artie’s first day at Ardmore Middle School starts off badly: Before he even leaves the house he’s fallen out of bed, zapped...

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A preteen horror take on Groundhog Day.

Artie’s first day at Ardmore Middle School starts off badly: Before he even leaves the house he’s fallen out of bed, zapped himself plugging in the cellphone charger and been squirted with syrup by his little brother. It gets so radically worse that by the afternoon he’s received the dismaying news that a gang has been dispatched to beat him up on the way home at the Principal’s request. Before that can happen, to his astonishment, he’s suddenly waking up in bed. Was it a dream? Hard to say, because again he falls out of bed, zaps himself, gets squirted and goes on to another first day that is nearly the same but even more disastrous. And then again. Each round gets shorter but weirder as Artie’s struggles to head off catastrophes he knows are coming lead to bizarre accidents, wild chases, scary discoveries in the school’s dank, dark basement and, at last, a truly memorable encounter with an oversized custodian who disintegrates into a pack of weasels. After that, it’s almost a letdown when Stine explains Artie’s misadventures with a logical and obvious revelation.