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LUCILLE LOST

A TRUE ADVENTURE

Inspired by a true incident, this fact-laced, handsomely illustrated episode follows a young pet tortoise as she lumbers into a wide but rarely threatening world. A mere stripling of 30, Lucille impulsively climbs out of her outdoor pen and takes a stroll down the street—but before she can stroll back, a friendly stranger spots her and, mistaking her for a wild turtle, transports her to a distant woodsy area. Rich in fine, accurately rendered natural detail, the pictures put viewers down at ground level with Lucille as she encounters a snake, a hostile snapping turtle and other wildlife. In a mystical turn, she meets an ancient spirit atop a Native-American effigy mound, then the next morning plants herself near a poster her worried human family has put up, and is soon rescued. Though Lucille and the other animals talk to each other, they keep something of their animal natures rather than just being humans in disguise, and both in the narrative and in side boxes the authors discuss tortoise breeds, behavior, proper care and related topics. It adds up to an engaging mix of science and story. (Picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: June 1, 2006

ISBN: 0-670-06093-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2006

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THE PIRATE PIG

A nifty high-seas caper for chapter-book readers with a love of adventure and a yearning for treasure.

It’s not truffles but doubloons that tickle this porcine wayfarer’s fancy.

Funke and Meyer make another foray into chapter-book fare after Emma and the Blue Genie (2014). Here, mariner Stout Sam and deckhand Pip eke out a comfortable existence on Butterfly Island ferrying cargo to and fro. Life is good, but it takes an unexpected turn when a barrel washes ashore containing a pig with a skull-and-crossbones pendant around her neck. It soon becomes clear that this little piggy, dubbed Julie, has the ability to sniff out treasure—lots of it—in the sea. The duo is pleased with her skills, but pride goeth before the hog. Stout Sam hands out some baubles to the local children, and his largess attracts the unwanted attention of Barracuda Bill and his nasty minions. Now they’ve pignapped Julie, and it’s up to the intrepid sailors to save the porker and their own bacon. The succinct word count meets the needs of kids looking for early adventure fare. The tale is slight, bouncy, and amusing, though Julie is never the piratical buccaneer the book’s cover seems to suggest. Meanwhile, Meyer’s cheery watercolors are as comfortable diagramming the different parts of a pirate vessel as they are rendering the dread pirate captain himself.

A nifty high-seas caper for chapter-book readers with a love of adventure and a yearning for treasure. (Adventure. 7-9)

Pub Date: June 23, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-385-37544-3

Page Count: 80

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2015

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RED-EYED TREE FROG

Bishop’s spectacular photographs of the tiny red-eyed tree frog defeat an incidental text from Cowley (Singing Down the Rain, 1997, etc.). The frog, only two inches long, is enormous in this title; it appears along with other nocturnal residents of the rain forests of Central America, including the iguana, ant, katydid, caterpillar, and moth. In a final section, Cowley explains how small the frog is and aspects of its life cycle. The main text, however, is an afterthought to dramatic events in the photos, e.g., “But the red-eyed tree frog has been asleep all day. It wakes up hungry. What will it eat? Here is an iguana. Frogs do not eat iguanas.” Accompanying an astonishing photograph of the tree frog leaping away from a boa snake are three lines (“The snake flicks its tongue. It tastes frog in the air. Look out, frog!”) that neither advance nor complement the action. The layout employs pale and deep green pages and typeface, and large jewel-like photographs in which green and red dominate. The combination of such visually sophisticated pages and simplistic captions make this a top-heavy, unsatisfying title. (Picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: March 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-590-87175-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999

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