Leedy (Celebrate the 50 States!, 1999, etc.) has a gift for presenting concepts wrapped in stories both easily assimilated and engaging. Here, Lisa and her Boston terrier, Penny, last seen in Measuring Penny (1998), tackle maps and mapping. Mr. Jayson, Lisa’s teacher, shows what’s important to include in a map, with illustrations of the map key, symbols, labels, the compass rose, and the scale—each carefully explained. Lisa decides to map her bedroom, complete with all the essential parts. Then she makes a treasure map for all the things Penny has buried in the back yard. She draws a directional map to show how Penny’s doggy friend Maxine takes a short cut to get to Penny’s house, and Lisa uses an odometer and pedometer to map the bike and hiking trails in the park. Not to neglect Penny, she builds a three-dimensional map to show all of Penny’s favorite places to fetch or to bark at squirrels. Lisa dreams of traveling with Penny to faraway places, too. Leedy’s blocky forms and poster paint colors (created with digital painting and photo collage) are a fine foil for the clear text, which teaches without patronizing. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-8050-6178-9
Page Count: -
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
To commemorate well-documented old sightings of huge sea serpents gamboling off the New England coast, Ibatoulline paints richly detailed scenes of wide seas and narrow shores, of small boats, monstrous writhing coils and astonished onlookers—to which Anderson pairs an old man’s reminiscence in verse: “The serpent was twirling, just chasing its tail, / And showed all intention of staying. / ‘Is it back in the deep?’ ‘Is it eating our sheep?’ / ‘I think,’ I said, ‘that the serpent is playing.’ ” Young monster lovers will share the wonder of this never-solved mystery, and applaud when a company of sea-hunter’s strenuous efforts to kill the monster yield only a large mackerel. A 19th-century tale presented in grand, 19th-century style. (afterword) (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-7636-2038-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Big Brown Bear, with a natty bowler hat, is all set to paint the house in this cheerful Level 1 reader. Every page presents a full-color scene and a few words of easily predicted, often rhyming text: “Bear is big. Bear is brown. Bear goes up. He comes down.” Big Bear climbs a ladder with a pail of blue paint, while nearby, Little Bear plays with a ball and bat—“Oh no! Little Bear! Do not do that!” These are simple words, but sometimes challenging ones, e.g., there are two uses of up, as in climbing the ladder and washing up. The pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations provide nearly ideal context, while also amplifying the story. The format is attractive and practical, featuring large type on a white background that is placed for easy reading. Beginning readers will be amused by the gentle humor in the book, and feel accomplished to have tackled it themselves. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201999-5
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Green Light/Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1999
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