by Mark Alan Weatherby & illustrated by Mark Alan Weatherby ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1997
A little girl peers from her window in the night, waiting for her dinosaur to appear. She nips outside, whistles, and a green-mottled megacreature materializes. They cavort until first light—visiting with the denizens of the night, taking a moonlit dip, the girl reaching for the stars. She is dropped off at home for a few winks; at breakfast her mother wants to know why she has leaves in her hair. `` `I played with my dinosaur last night,' I tell her. `That's nice,' she says.'' Weatherby (illustrator of Jim Murphy's The Last Dinosaur, 1988, not reviewed) tells the story dreamily, with a near-glut of tenderness and warmth: ``My dinosaur never scares the night creatures. They like him,'' and, from her farewell song, ``Good night, my dinosaur. Sleep tight, my dinosaur. Soon I'll see you again, my very best friend.'' Younger children will find plenty of reassurance here—there is nothing to fear from the night or large beasts—but both text and illustrations are spun from sugar and far too fragile for the sharp skepticism and dinosaur expertise of the older end of the picture-book set. (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: March 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-590-97203-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1997
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by Alexandra Davis ; illustrated by Katie Hickey ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2019
A rousing, upbeat introduction to the camaraderie and contributions of the “unsung heroines of World War II” who cut 10...
In World War II–era Britain, young women on the homefront replace fighting men by volunteering for service in the Women’s Timber Corps.
Each “with two hands willing to work and one stout heart,” the Lumber Jills pull woolen socks up to their knees, bid their families farewell, settle into primitive bunkhouses, and learn how “to chop and saw and split” England and Scotland’s trees and haul them from forest to mill. Overcoming blisters and bunkhouse boredom, the Lumber Jills cheerfully perform their work in sun and snow to provide timber crucial for the war effort. The cadenced, repetitive text appropriately echoes the rhythmic tempos and motions of chopping, cutting, and sawing. Sprightly, busy watercolor illustrations showcase sturdy, smiling, white Lumber Jills clad in gum boots, green berets, green sweaters, and green trousers while toting axes and logs and capture the forest venue as well as wartime atmosphere. Inclusion of background posters promoting women’s participation in war work adds relevant period detail while a concluding historical note offers commentary on the vital role women played in the lumber industry during the war.
A rousing, upbeat introduction to the camaraderie and contributions of the “unsung heroines of World War II” who cut 10 million trees for Britain. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8075-4795-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
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illustrated by Irene Chan ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2019
An accessible if imperfect American album.
An alphabetical tour of all things American, from Abraham Lincoln to zipper.
The uncredited author uses a predicable alphabet-book captioning structure (“B is for Baseball”; “J is for July Fourth”), relying on adult readers to explain the relationships of the various items included to the United States of America. They may well be unable to answer what makes a Ferris wheel American or, even more mystifyingly, a uniform (several military-style uniforms are depicted) or a volcano. A mix of full-page and double-page spreads presents each letter; the letter “E” spread must be rotated 90 degrees to accommodate the height of the Empire State Building. There are some odd pairings when two incongruous images are flush up against each other due to their sequence in the alphabet (chocolate chip cookies and Death Valley?). Many of the scenes are quintessentially American, such as the Liberty Bell and Martin Luther King Jr., while others seem to be have been selected for their initial letter alone. While diverse people are present in many of the group scenes, the New Orleans jazz band looks rather a bit too white, and the Thanksgiving page depicts stereotypical, smiling Native Americans and Pilgrims. The flat, inviting imagery in bold colors and rounded lines will support language development in toddlers learning to name their world and, in this case, their nation.
An accessible if imperfect American album. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: June 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-279527-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
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