by Mary Calhoun & illustrated by Erick Ingraham ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1997
Wholesome family values are served up in this story of one family's survival of the great flood of the Midwest in 1993. Sarajean is as tenacious as her grandmother in her resistance to the rising waters of her beloved Mississippi. When possessions, including Sarajean's dog, are moved to higher ground, her family staunchly ``camps out'' on the second story to weather the storm. When the levee breaks, they are forced to evacuate. In true Laura Ingalls Wilder style, they learn the true meaning of home. This is not high-action disaster drama; it is social commentary via the portrait of an individual family's efforts and contribution within a community. Appropriately dull grays and blues convey the damp, dreary heaviness of the skies and water-soaked landscape in a much more serious take on floods than found in George Ella Lyon's lively Come a Tide (1990). Although the home-is-where-the-heart-is message is heavy-handed, it's also enduring. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-688-13919-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1997
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by Mary Calhoun
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by Mary Calhoun & illustrated by Edward Martinez
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by Mary Calhoun & illustrated by Erick Ingraham
by Deborah Nash & illustrated by Deborah Nash ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2007
Eager to prove his wisdom and worthiness to become King of the Nile, Baby Crocodile swims up the river in search of the answer to Crookedy Crocodile’s riddle (the classic St. Ives nursery rhyme localized). He asks an assortment of objects and animals—the Great Sphinx, a cobra, a frog, a perch, a cat and the statue of Alexander the Great. After much confusion and no further ahead in his response, he finally arrives at the Temple Kom Ombo where he encounters Sobek, the “colossal Crocodile God,” who tells him “there is only one simple answer.” Realizing the answer, Baby Crocodile returns to the river with “a crown of lotus flowers” on his head, becoming King. As she did in Made in China (2006), Nash uses the story line to provide a tour of ancient and modern Egypt with a dual text describing the sights, culture and customs combining ancient and new settings. Mixed-media paintings imitating hieroglyphic artwork of figures in profile pose include sand from Egypt and gold foil. Factual information presented, however brief, could be enhanced with a short bibliography or suggested reading list, as Tamar Bower does in the more authentic-looking and beautiful rendition of the story, How the Amazon Queen Fought the Prince of Egypt (2005). (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-84507-466-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2007
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by Deborah Nash & illustrated by Deborah Nash
by Ana A. de Eulate & illustrated by Sonja Wimmer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2012
A young girl dreams of the day peace will come to contemporary Afghanistan, the war-torn country she loves.
Letting her imagination soar, a little girl looks to the sky and visualizes flying the “bright kite of peace” across Afghanistan into “people’s houses, their homes, their families, their hearts.” She sees her dream in children’s smiles and eyes, “a wonderful dream in which we all hold hands” and the “sound of war has truly gone forever.” She envisions a future filled with hope, opportunity and harmony. Speaking idealistically in the present tense, the little girl’s voice rings with compelling optimism, and her verbal images of the sky, kites, soaring and flying are visually reinforced in elegant, wistful illustrations that compositionally sweep the eye diagonally upward across the page from left to right. Somber, gray pencil drawings and tan backgrounds reflect the current bleak Afghan reality, while blue headscarves and red kites provide hopeful accents. Powerful images of dancing kites, ascending doves, women in burqas, a child playing with toys made from trash and flowers sprouting from tanks juxtapose the real and the aspirational. While topically relevant, the absence of historical, political or cultural context for the current Afghan crisis may leave young readers somewhat clueless. Ardent advocacy for Afghan peace. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-84-15503-04-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Cuento de Luz
Review Posted Online: Aug. 28, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
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by Ana A. de Eulate & illustrated by Monica Carretero & translated by Jon Brokenbrow
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