Published in cooperation with the Denver Museum of Natural History, this title in the Our Human Family series seeks to explore the human quest for understanding, but it lacks clear definitions and the examples are often atypical or confusing. ``Every human culture has systems to guide the mental, physical, and moral growth of its members,'' states Pickering in her first book, and then describes how cultures around the world, grouped by geographic region (Europe and the Middle East fall under one chapter), provide academic, social, vocational, and personal education. She provides examples accompanied by loosely related full-color photographs; thus, in the chapter on Africa, the text describes the preparations for adulthood among the Ngbaka people of Zaire while the photo shows a Bushman from Namibia. There is no other mention of Namibia in the text and no maps to provide locations inside the country of any of the groups described. Further, the author fails to tie ancillary discussions (e.g., on the importance of a ``true democracy'' or the destruction of the rain forest) to the main topic, making an already diffuse subject even more difficult for readers to grasp. (glossary, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 12+)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1995
ISBN: 1-56711-127-0
Page Count: 80
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1995
Man’s best friend is at the heart of 13 curious tales culled from worldwide traditions, crossing oceans and time. From Africa to Arabia, China to Japan, the stories span a range in both tone and subject matter. While many of the stories appeared in the Hausmans’ The Mythology of Dogs (1997), those regathered here are the archetypal and mythological, the fanciful and magical, including ghost dogs, immortals, and canine heroes who speak and sing, marry princesses, transform, catch flying bullets in their teeth, and recover magic rings. A two-inch-tall faery dog shines in “King Herla’s Hound,” while the mighty Thor’s companion reveals why the watchdog Rottweiler’s fierce growl sounds like thunder in the throat in the pourquoi tale “Thunder Mouth Dog.” The Hausmans are well-grounded in both folkloric elements and storytelling sensibility, arranging their tales in short chapters such as “Trickster Dogs,” “Enchanted Dogs,” and “Guardian Dogs”; they punctuate each with an explanatory, if complex, punchline of sorts. Moser’s characteristically striking design portrays the akita and basenji, spaniel and shar-pei as if the dogs posed for portrait sittings. Singular compositions focus on each dog as individual, without ornament or fanfare, as if in sculptural relief, carved against the surrounding vast plane of the page. (notes, sources) (Folklore. 8-14)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-689-80696-5
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
Whirls of tiny, brightly dressed people’some with wings—fill Kleven’s kaleidoscopic portraits of sun-drenched Los Angeles neighborhoods and landmarks; the Los Angeles—based authors supply equally colorful accounts of the city’s growth, festivals, and citizens, using an appended chronology to squeeze in a few more anecdotes. As does Kathy Jakobsen’s My New York (1998), Jaskol and Lewis’s book captures a vivid sense of a major urban area’s bustle, diversity, and distinctive character; young Angelenos will get a hearty dose of civic pride, and children everywhere will find new details in the vibrant illustrations at every pass. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-525-46214-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
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