Who has not played, as children and with children, the game of ``I spy?'' Micklethwait (I Spy a Lion, 1994, etc.) once again turns that game into an enthralling search into the heart of paintings. Her method is simple: On one page appears text, e.g., ``I spy/with my little eye/a car,'' while on the facing page is a reproduction of a painting in which onlookers must find that vehicle. The striking and unusual paintings she chooses are not usually about moving from ``here'' to ``there,'' except in the most metaphysical sense. Sometimes, as in Mel Ramos's Batmobile, the mode of transportation is obvious; in other pictures, like the rowboat in Kandinsky's Birds or the bicycle in Thiebaud's Down Eighteenth Street, it takes time to find them. A mirage-like rendering of a camel in Dali's La Table Solaire and a lapidary elephant in an Indian miniature remind readers that transportation, like art, comes in many forms. Included is a list of paintings with artists, dates, and current location noted. Like the others in Micklethwait's I Spy series, this is a book of myriad charms that engages readers on multiple levels; it's a refreshing change from Where's Waldo? and other titles of that ilk. (Picture book. 6-10)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-688-14700-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1996
At ``Step 2'' in the useful ``Step into Reading'' series: an admirably clear, well-balanced presentation that centers on wolves' habits and pack structure. Milton also addresses their endangered status, as well as their place in fantasy, folklore, and the popular imagination. Attractive realistic watercolors on almost every page. Top-notch: concise, but remarkably extensive in its coverage. A real bargain. (Nonfiction/Easy reader. 6-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-679-91052-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1992
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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