The founder of the bilingual children's magazine Azul offers a collection of poetry by Gary Soto, Oscar Hijuelos (who also contributes an introduction) and other contemporary Latino writers from both the edges and the heartland of our country. Most, but not all, of the poems were written in English first; they appear here in the original, and also in translations: sometimes literal, sometimes free, sometimes by the poet, generally by another. Gathered by theme—``School Days,'' ``Hard Times,'' ``Time To Party,'' etc.—they express a wide range of experience and feeling in direct ways, from Gina ValdÇs's ironic ``English con Salsa'' (``Welcome to ESL 100, English Surely Latinized'') or Pat Mora's ``Mango Juice'' (``Eating mangoes/on a stick/is laughing/as gold juice/slides down/your chin...'') to Luis J. Rodr°guez's account of being beaten upon venturing into a white neighborhood to buy groceries (`` `Race' Politics''). Six of the poems here are truly bilingual, mixing languages in intriguing ways. In ``Why Do Men Wear Earrings on One Ear?'' Trinidad Sanchez Jr. exclaims: ``Sepa yo!/Maybe por costumbre, maybe porque es la moda/or they have made promesas...because la chica selling them was sooooo mamacita...'' Carlson assumes that most of her readers will be more comfortable in English; the English version of each poem comes first, and Spanish phrases are translated (``Sepa yo: How should I know?'') in an appended glossary. Poetry with a distinct flavor: a skillfully mixed appetizer for After Aztlan: Latino Poets of the Nineties (1992) and other larger collections. Biographical sketches. (Poetry. 10-up)
Pub Date: July 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-8050-3135-9
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
The inevitable go-to for Percy’s legions of fans who want the stories behind his stories.
Percy Jackson takes a break from adventuring to serve up the Greek gods like flapjacks at a church breakfast.
Percy is on form as he debriefs readers concerning Chaos, Gaea, Ouranos and Pontus, Dionysus, Ariadne and Persephone, all in his dude’s patter: “He’d forgotten how beautiful Gaea could be when she wasn’t all yelling up in his face.” Here they are, all 12 Olympians, plus many various offspring and associates: the gold standard of dysfunctional families, whom Percy plays like a lute, sometimes lyrically, sometimes with a more sardonic air. Percy’s gift, which is no great secret, is to breathe new life into the gods. Closest attention is paid to the Olympians, but Riordan has a sure touch when it comes to fitting much into a small space—as does Rocco’s artwork, which smokes and writhes on the page as if hit by lightning—so readers will also meet Makaria, “goddess of blessed peaceful deaths,” and the Theban Teiresias, who accidentally sees Athena bathing. She blinds him but also gives him the ability to understand the language of birds. The atmosphere crackles and then dissolves, again and again: “He could even send the Furies after living people if they committed a truly horrific crime—like killing a family member, desecrating a temple, or singing Journey songs on karaoke night.”
The inevitable go-to for Percy’s legions of fans who want the stories behind his stories. (Mythology. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-8364-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A child finds that being alone in a tiny tropical paradise has its ups and downs in this appealingly offbeat tale from the Australian author of Peeling the Onion (1999). Though her mother is long dead and her scientist father Jack has just sailed off on a quick expedition to gather plankton, Nim is anything but lonely on her small island home. Not only does she have constant companions in Selkie, a sea lion, and a marine iguana named Fred, but Chica, a green turtle, has just arrived for an annual egg-laying—and, through the solar-powered laptop, she has even made a new e-mail friend in famed adventure novelist Alex Rover. Then a string of mishaps darkens Nim’s sunny skies: her father loses rudder and dish antenna in a storm; a tourist ship that was involved in her mother’s death appears off the island’s reefs; and, running down a volcanic slope, Nim takes a nasty spill that leaves her feverish, with an infected knee. Though she lives halfway around the world and is in reality a decidedly unadventurous urbanite, Alex, short for “Alexandra,” sets off to the rescue, arriving in the midst of another storm that requires Nim and companions to rescue her. Once Jack brings his battered boat limping home, the stage is set for sunny days again. Plenty of comic, freely-sketched line drawings help to keep the tone light, and Nim, with her unusual associates and just-right mix of self-reliance and vulnerability, makes a character young readers won’t soon tire of. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-81123-0
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2000
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