“Hear, and listen well, my friends, and I will tell you a tale that has been told for a thousand years and more.” It’s not exactly a rarely told tale, either, though this complete rendition is distinguished by both handsome packaging and a prose narrative that artfully mixes alliterative language reminiscent of the original, with currently topical references to, for instance, Grendel’s “endless terror raids,” and the “holocaust at Heorot.” Along with being printed on heavy stock and surrounded by braided borders, the text is paired to colorful scenes featuring a small human warrior squaring off with a succession of grimacing but not very frightening monsters in battles marked by but a few discreet splashes of blood. Morpurgo puts his finger on the story’s enduring appeal—“we still fear the evil that stalks out there in the darkness . . . ”—but offers a version unlikely to trouble the sleep of more sensitive readers or listeners. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-7636-3206-6
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2006
A brief, visually appealing introduction to garbage—where it comes from, where it goes. Dumps, landfills, incinerators, and a variety of recycling projects (both individual and commercial) are clearly described and illustrated with full-color photos. Especially interesting is a chapter on how an MRF (materials recycling facility) sorts and processes trash by using sorting machines that shake, blow, and apply magnets and eddy currents. Compost machines, methane gas recovery, making and recycling plastic soda bottles, and the problem of hazardous wastes are all briefly described. Specialized terms appear in italics and are defined both in the text and in the glossary (``lechate,'' ``biodegradable,'' ``white goods''). A very readable first look at an important topic. Annotated list of additional reading; organizations to write for more information; index. (Nonfiction. 10-12)l
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1991
ISBN: 0-395-56436-0
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1991
The author of The Blizzard of 1896 (1990) and other tall tales of the Old West goes back to an even older West for the story of an Anasazi boy with an unusual friend—an affectionate bear cub that dances when it hears music, bringing good cheer and, without fail, rain as well. Though Bird admits that his anthropology is not up to snuff, and his language has a modern sound (after the bear performs for some hunters, ``they laughed and had a great time''), the bear is an appealing animated character that behaves—and is treated—like a hairy young child. The plot tends to wander, but its mildly humorous course— punctuated by dramatic incidents (a charging buffalo, a violent thunderstorm)—holds interest. Slight but appealing, a fantasy with an unusual—and particularly well-realized—setting and small illustrations resembling southwestern petroglyphs. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: April 27, 1993
ISBN: 0-87614-748-1
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1993
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