In classic E. Nesbit tradition, Jack's wishes go awry while he and his sister Annie, seven, are time traveling. Reluctantly followed by her eight-year-old brother, Annie enters a mysterious treehouse full of books. Examining a dinosaur book, Jack blurts, "I wish I could see a pteranodon for real''—whereupon one flies in, with a rushing wind. Like Dorothy and Toto, they're blown to a land of adventure: the treehouse takes them to the Cretaceous Period, where they meet a triceratops and a duck-billed dinosaur and find a gold medallion engraved "M.'' Elation gives way to terror when a tyrannosaur shows up; Annie escapes, but Jack is cut off while retrieving his pack and the book. Just in time, the pteranodon flies him back to the treehouse, and a hasty wish spins them safely home, to ponder several questions: Whose treehouse? Why all the books? Who is "M''? In the "First Stepping Stone'' series, this initial "Magic Tree House'' book is a fast-paced tale offering both mystery and dinosaurs—powerful enticements for newly independent readers. Illustrations not seen. (Fiction/Young reader. 6-9)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-679-92411-6
Page Count: 68
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
With mountainous dignity, mammoths lumber across wide prehistoric landscapes as Wheeler traces their ancient annual round in verse: “Come colder days, those mammoth herds / migrated south, just like the birds. / Their menu had to be improved, / so mammoths packed their trunks and moved.” Limning heavy tusks and each shaggy lock in strong lines and rich golden hues, Cyrus views the page-filling pachyderms from low angles, capturing a sense of their massive presence as they loom over small trees, plod through snow storms, gather in a defensive circle at the sight of a saber-toothed tiger and paddle, trunks up across deep water. (Wheeler notes at the outset that scientists extrapolate mammoth behavior from watching modern elephants.) Young audiences will be riveted by this compelling introduction, and rightly tempted to echo the awed refrain: “Big and bulky, / huge and hulky, / wide and woolly mammoths!” (Picture book nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-15-204700-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2006
Avast! Captain Abdul’s ship, the Golden Behind, gains a diaper-clad new crewmember when Doris and the other pirate wives set out for a bit of pillaging on their own. The Captain is outraged—“What’s the woman thinkin’ of, dumpin’ a ninfant wi’ a bunch of fearsome pirates? It’s hirrisponsibul, HIRRISPONSIBUL!”—but then comes around. Little Treasure (as he’s dubbed) soon has Abdul and the rest of the scruffy crew wrapped around his chubby little finger, as they teach him pirate skills and sing him to sleep each night. McNaughton illustrates in his usual broad, busy cartoon style, outfitting everyone in appropriately piratical gear and giving Little Treasure a wooly orange shock of hair identical to the captain’s. In the end, so pleased are the wives with how well Little Treasure’s done that they drop off a full dozen tykes, transforming the Golden Behind, its figurehead newly clad in a Jolly Roger diaper, into a permanent nursery. A cautionary tale if ever there was one. (CD) (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-7636-3045-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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