The third episode (of a planned six) in this prehistoric epic continues its predecessors’ quick pacing, vivid storytelling and strong connections between human characters and the natural world. When his beloved four-legged companion Wolf is captured by the dreaded Soul Eaters, two-legged Torak pursues past the forests he knows so well and out onto the bitterly hostile northern ice fields. With help from a small band of friendly ice-dwellers, Torak and his loyal if contentious friend Renn learn the requisite survival skills (with plenty of narrow squeaks), and rescue Wolf from a planned blood sacrifice intended to release a horde of demons into this world. But the demons are released anyway, requiring the sacrifice of a life to imprison them again. Once again, Paver tells the tale from both animal and human perspectives, cranks up the suspense and takes her young heroes through deadly encounters with storms, bears (here, polar bears) and spirits, then closes with the revelation of further challenges to be faced in battling the Soul Eaters. Compelling from first page to last. (Fantasy. 11-13)
Pub Date: March 1, 2007
ISBN: 0-06-072831-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2007
Baker (Big Fat Hen, 1994, etc.) engages in more number play, posing ducklings in every combination of groups, e.g., “Splashing as they leap and dive/7 ducklings, 2 plus 5.” Using a great array of streaked and dappled papers, Baker creates a series of leafy collage scenes for the noisy, exuberant ducklings to fill, tucking in an occasional ladybug or other small creature for sharp-eyed pre-readers to spot. Children will regretfully wave goodbye as the ducks fly off in neat formation at the end of this brief, painless introduction to several basic math concepts. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-292858-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
Who is next in the ocean food chain? Pallotta has a surprising answer in this picture book glimpse of one curious boy. Danny, fascinated by plankton, takes his dory and rows out into the ocean, where he sees shrimp eating those plankton, fish sand eels eating shrimp, mackerel eating fish sand eels, bluefish chasing mackerel, tuna after bluefish, and killer whales after tuna. When an enormous humpbacked whale arrives on the scene, Danny’s dory tips over and he has to swim for a large rock or become—he worries’someone’s lunch. Surreal acrylic illustrations in vivid blues and red extend the story of a small boy, a small boat, and a vast ocean, in which the laws of the food chain are paramount. That the boy has been bathtub-bound during this entire imaginative foray doesn’t diminish the suspense, and the facts Pallotta presents are solidly researched. A charming fish tale about the one—the boy—that got away. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-88106-075-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000
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