This hybrid of poetic text with factual sidebars adequately serves its purpose as a way to interest early grade schoolers in...
As people create more farms in the areas of the African continent formerly populated by cheetahs, the animals have become endangered.
Incorporating two different writing styles in each double-page spread, Stanek aims to appeal to young readers’ emotions and intellect. A poem that begins: “I dream of cheetahs / racing on / across the bright savanna” runs throughout the book, ending with the repetitive phrase: “I dream of cheetahs / racing on… // …extinction / far behind them.” Accompanying the poem’s lines, a factual text explains cheetah behavior and some of the reasons for their endangerment and potential extinction, including increased human activity in their traditional habitat, causing a phenomenon known as “fragmented territory” which “makes it difficult for cheetahs to find mates.” The lines of the poem, which could be read aloud separately to a fairly young audience, and accompanying illustration take up three-quarters of each spread. Varying vertical, generically African-patterned borders break up the right-hand pages, separating the clearly written prose from the poem. The animal paintings, detailed and engaging, are the highlight of this useful book, but the few illustrations of humans are stiff and less successful. Several teaching activities round out the book, with more resources provided by the publisher to be found online. A Spanish-language edition publishes simultaneously in paperback.
This hybrid of poetic text with factual sidebars adequately serves its purpose as a way to interest early grade schoolers in the plight of one endangered species. (bibliography) (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-60718-727-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Arbordale Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Charming.
An assortment of unusual characters form friendships and help each other become their best selves.
Mr. and Mrs. Tupper, who live at Number 3 Ramshorn Drive, are antiquarians. Their daughter, Jillian, loves and cares for a plant named Ivy, who has “three speckles on each leaf and three letters in her name.” Toasty, the grumpy goldfish, lives in an octagonal tank and wishes he were Jillian’s favorite; when Arthur the spider arrives inside an antique desk, he brings wisdom and insight. Ollie the violet plant, Louise the bee, and Sunny the canary each arrive with their own quirks and problems to solve. Each character has a distinct personality and perspective; sometimes they clash, but more often they learn to empathize, see each other’s points of view, and work to help one another. They also help the Tupper family with bills and a burglar. The Fan brothers’ soft-edged, old-fashioned, black-and-white illustrations depict Toasty and Arthur with tiny hats; Ivy and Ollie have facial expressions on their plant pots. The Tuppers have paper-white skin and dark hair. The story comes together like a recipe: Simple ingredients combine, transform, and rise into something wonderful. In its matter-of-fact wisdom, rich vocabulary (often defined within the text), hint of magic, and empathetic nonhuman characters who solve problems in creative ways, this delightful work is reminiscent of Ferris by Kate DiCamillo, Our Friend Hedgehog by Lauren Castillo, and Ivy Lost and Found by Cynthia Lord and Stephanie Graegin.
Charming. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781665942485
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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