The amazing Antarctic survival story of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew is the basis for this transitional chapter book. Shackleton and his crew of 27 were attempting to cross the continent of Antarctica in 1914, when their ship, the Endurance, became stuck in the ice. They stayed with the ship for seven months, camped on ice floes for five months, and then rowed in small lifeboats to a distant island. Their saga continued as Shackleton and four of the men continued on to another island to get help for the rest of the crew, and all the crew members survived the 18-month ordeal. Penner does a serviceable job of summarizing a complex story in brief chapters, with short sentences that convey the information with a sense of excitement and inherent danger. A few black-and-white photographs from the actual expedition are included (without captions), supplemented with LaFleur’s coordinating illustrations in icy blues and lavenders. Several books for young readers on the Shackleton saga have been published in the last few years, including two well-received volumes by Jennifer Armstrong and an easy reader in Random House’s Step into Reading series (Monica Kulling’s Sea of Ice: The Wreck of the Endurance, 1999). Still, kids do love disaster books, and this story has all the drawing power of a disaster without the unhappy ending (except for the poor sled dogs). (Easy reader/nonfiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: July 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-307-26408-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Golden Books/Random
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2001
Sloat collaborates with Huffman, a Yu’pik storyteller, to infuse a traditional “origins” tale with the joy of creating. Hearing the old women of her village grumble that they have only tasteless crowberries for the fall feast’s akutaq—described as “Eskimo ice cream,” though the recipe at the end includes mixing in shredded fish and lard—young Anana carefully fashions three dolls, then sings and dances them to life. Away they bound, to cover the hills with cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries. Sloat dresses her smiling figures in mixes of furs and brightly patterned garb, and sends them tumbling exuberantly through grassy tundra scenes as wildlife large and small gathers to look on. Despite obtrusively inserted pronunciations for Yu’pik words in the text, young readers will be captivated by the action, and by Anana’s infectious delight. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-88240-575-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
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