Long before Yogi Berra said, “You can observe a lot by watching,” Fabre proved it so.
The rewards of simply taking time to bend down for a closer look are celebrated in this tribute to the great French entomologist.
Seeing as a lad that “every patch of dirt and tangle of weeds buzzed with insects: dazzling beetles, ferocious wasps, sweet-singing crickets, and more,” young Fabre went on to devote a long life to watching common insects rather than just collecting dead specimens as most of his contemporary colleagues did. The distinctive, enduring affection with which he regarded his diminutive subjects regardless of their often savage behavior comes through clearly here, both in Smith’s warm narrative and Ferri’s equally engaging views of the naturalist. He delightedly discovers a shimmering hoplia beetle beneath a leaf, smiles from his sickbed as a handful of hibernating bees revives after his son carries them indoors, and is wonderstruck by an account of how Cerceris wasps paralyze beetles as live food for offspring. (The illustrator has a little fun with viewers by adding a looming insectile shadow as well as close-up views of hovering wasps in this last scene.) Fabre’s many original discoveries and insights won him renown, and though he is largely unknown to nonspecialists today, his nose-to-nose approach to the natural world is well worth commemorating to modern readers.
Long before Yogi Berra said, “You can observe a lot by watching,” Fabre proved it so. (historical note, timeline, author’s note, annotated source list) (Picture book/biography. 9-11)Pub Date: May 12, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4778-2632-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Two Lions
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
Readers who have just discovered Anne Shirley of Green Gables and are wondering where she came from will find at least the beginnings of an answer in this fresh, frank picture-book biography. Montgomery comes across as a generous spirit, with both an independent streak and a strong sense of duty. MacLeod sketches both her public and private lives, pointing out real people, places, or incidents that appeared later in her books. She quotes income figures ($12,000 in 1914: as much as the Canadian Prime Minister) and describes, among other details, her youthful infatuation for one man, her secret engagement to another, and, years later, her long struggle to keep her husband's mental illness a secret. On every spread, montages of contemporary photos, portraits, book covers, quotes, memorabilia, manuscript pages, reviews, and film stills add a visual backdrop to this engaging glimpse of Canada's most famous author. A sketched figure of Maud points to important opinions or pieces of information. Montgomery's other books get a glance too, and there is a complete list at the end, along with lists of sites to visit, both in Canada and on the Web. A terrific format for an appealing subject. (index) (Biography. 9-11)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-55074-487-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Chasing his last ball down into the town sewer, Stan brings back a noxious, dripping lump that not only disgusts and...
A pet iguana flushed down a toilet, a scientist’s unwelcomed potion for giant Brussels sprouts, a sociopathic dog named Mr. Snuggles and a reeking glob of slime that turns out not to be a baseball are but some of the elements in this Captain Underpants–style yuck-o-rama.
Chasing his last ball down into the town sewer, Stan brings back a noxious, dripping lump that not only disgusts and interests everyone at school but brings his long-lost pet Fluffy—grown to dinosaurian proportions—back to the surface in rampaging pursuit. The author loses few opportunities to drag references to Dumpsters, rotting food, underwear, farts and like subgenre tropes into a plot thick with mishaps, chases and melodramatic cliffhangers. Oddly, despite crafting a tale and cast that are both liberally smeared with muck, he seems to regard any specific mention of what goes into and comes out of sewers as taboo, but you could cut the innuendo with a knife. Tableaux done as large, simple line drawings featuring the annoyed-looking monster and hunched, hapless-looking smaller figures on nearly every page give the tale that fashionable Wimpy Kid lookPub Date: Oct. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5977-4
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
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