by Marian Parks illustrated by Christine Karron ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2017
An adventure that may help young readers find their own inner strength in the face of adversity—and spark their interest in...
A bear who enjoys gathering and categorizing stones deals with a bully in Parks’ (Pocketmouse at Crystal Cove, 2016) rhyming adventure with illustrations by Karron (Swirl Spirits, 2016, etc.).
Berto isn’t like the other black bears at Yosemite National Park. For one thing, he’s “ghastly afraid / Of climbing the cliffs where other bears played.” But he’s a happy youngster who loves collecting rocks, and he has an official permit from the national park to do so. He particularly likes grouping them into their types: sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. Unfortunately, being different makes Berto a target for a bully bear named Buck. As Berto hides from his nemesis, he enjoys spying on ranger-led groups of humans; one of the best illustrations shows Berto looking in at a group of predominantly African-American hikers sitting around a campfire, with deer just beyond the shadows and a full sky of stars visible through the trees. When Berto returns home, he finds that Buck has torn apart his carefully labeled rock collection. Inspired by the ranger’s talk on real-life naturalist John Muir and his encounter with some particularly tough granite, Berto confronts Buck and stares him down. Later, when Buck gets stuck in a crevice, no one wants to help him, but Berto, who’s always feared climbing, decides to help his former enemy—if Buck promises to change his ways. Early on, Parks breezes through the science-based introduction in a way that will be accessible to young readers, showing not only the three major divisions of rocks, but also representatives of each type and the places where one might encounter them at Yosemite. Berto’s character development from fearful bear to brave rescuer is convincing, and although the opportunity to rescue Buck is too convenient, it can be forgiven for the sake of the tale. Parks’ stanzas also scan well, and with the exception of one oddly disproportionate illustration, Karron’s art is captivating and delightful.
An adventure that may help young readers find their own inner strength in the face of adversity—and spark their interest in geology as well.Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943172-01-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nature Tale Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Loren Long & illustrated by Loren Long ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2009
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
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SEEN & HEARD
by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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