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HONU

Name: HONU
Author: Marion Coste
ISBN: 0-8248-1507-6

by Marion Coste & illustrated by Cissy Gray ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1994

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A smoothly written narrative that begins when Hawaii's honu, or green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas)—a species that may measure 40 inches and weigh 400 pounds—comes ashore to lay eggs. Coste describes the honu's return to the deep sea, the uses of the turtle by early Hawaiians, and recent pressures that endanger it, then returns to the newly hatched young, making their journey to the sea. The book's second half, a more direct and detailed presentation of the same information, adds more specific facts on habitat, nesting behavior, adaptations, human impact, protection, etc.; the book as a whole would have been more effective if the two had been integrated, or if the first part had been livelier and more informative and the second merely a supplement or appendix. Still, the information is interesting and authentic, and Gray's watercolor illustrations of the shoreline and the clumsy turtles and the other wildlife are evocative and appealing. A good contribution to the endangered species shelf. Glossary; brief list for children ``To Learn More,'' with some Hawaiian materials, including a video. (Nonfiction. 5-11)

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1994

ISBN: 0-8248-1507-6

Page Count: 26

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1993

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
FINDING JOY
by Marion Coste & illustrated by Yong Chen

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BIG FOOT AND LITTLE FOOT

From the Big Foot & Little Foot series , Vol. 1

by Ellen Potter ; illustrated by Felicita Sala ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 10, 2018

A charming friendship story and great setup for future books.

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Curious about the Big Wide World outside his Sasquatch community, Hugo makes a friend who is of it.

Sasquatch Hugo’s bedroom is inside a cave and possesses the charming feature of a small stream running through it that he can sail his little toy boat on. It’s cool, but he yearns to see the Big Wide World. When he asks his smart friend Gigi if a Sasquatch might become a sailor, she says it’s possible but would be difficult—the primary rule of their people is to not be seen by Humans. Then, in everyone’s favorite Hide and Go Sneak class, which is held outside, a Human appears; Hugo laughs at the sight, drawing Human attention in a taboo-breaking mistake. Shortly after, Hugo’s toy boat floats into the cave with a Human toy—soon, it’s facilitating a pen-pal–type relationship that’s derailed when Hugo confesses to being a Sasquatch and Human Boone, a budding cryptozoologist, doesn’t believe him. How Hugo and Boone resolve this misapprehension and become friends in a joint search for the Ogopogo concludes this series opener. Potter keeps the third-person narrative tightly focused on Hugo’s perspective, and the details she uses to flesh out the Sasquatch world are delightfully playful. Sala’s drawings depict a homey Sasquatch cavern community, Boone as a freckled, white boy, and Hugo as a hairily benevolent behemoth.

A charming friendship story and great setup for future books. (final art unseen) (Fantasy. 5-9)

Pub Date: April 10, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-4197-2859-4

Page Count: 144

Publisher: Amulet/Abrams

Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
CENTRAL PARK GHOST
by Ellen Potter ; illustrated by Sara Cristofori

- BOOK REVIEW
SHARK IN THE PARK
by Ellen Potter ; illustrated by Sara Cristofori

- BOOK REVIEW
THE GOLDEN IMAGINARIUM
by Ellen Potter

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HENRY AND MUDGE AND THE STARRY NIGHT

From the Henry and Mudge series

by Cynthia Rylant & illustrated by Sucie Stevenson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1998

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Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)