Harking back to the olden days of ``paper doll'' nonfiction series, this Clues To The Past title offers crudely rendered art accompanying a random assortment of generalizations, unsupported by analysis, lively presentation, or even such amenities as a glossary or reading list. On each topical spread Corbishley (Ancient Rome, 1989) invites readers to examine a photo of an actual artifact, then read about it, and see it in context in a nearby painted illustration. At times this premise works: The three battered but recognizable shoes, for instance, and a wonderfully realistic tombstone carving of a butcher's shop, really do afford unusual glimpses into ancient daily life. But the obvious questions (How old is this object? Where was it found? How was it made? etc.) go, by and large, unanswered, and few of the other items are so revealing. Predictably, regional variations in dress, family life, or eating customs get barely a mention, and any changes that may have occurred over the centuries rate even less notice. Piecemeal, superficial, and superfluous. (Nonfiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-531-14288-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1994
paper 1-895688-87-6 Day uses the prehistoric tale of a young girl coming to terms with her fear of bears to explore the world of cave art. Quennu might be able to handle woolly mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers, but cave bears give her the willies. Her clan’s shaman gives her a bear tooth as a talisman to conquer her fear. On the day when the shaman summons all the people to the cave for an ecstatic painting ceremony, Quennu enters the cave after the others have gone on ahead. At one point she is sure she sees the fiery eyes of an enormous cave bear, yet she carries on, the tooth giving her strength. When she finds her clan in the shadowscape of a great chamber, they are singing and dancing and chanting and applying brushes to the cave walls. Quennu joins in, painting the bear, and putting to rest her fears of the creature, but not her respect for it. Day delivers charged, swirling color and smoky imagery in her illustrations, plus the frisson of transportive mystery that may turn children into future history majors. An explanatory page at the end puts the action into context. (Picture book. 7-11)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 1-895688-86-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Firefly
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
Arnold and Hewett (Stories in Stone, 1996, etc.) record the harrowing rescue of a baby gray whale who had become separated from her mother off the coast of California. She was discovered on January 10, 1997, exhausted, hungry, and near death. J.J. was 14 feet long when she was brought to SeaWorld as a young calf. Gaining 900 pounds in the first month, she had to be moved to a new home by crane. Her caretakers started planning on giving J.J. skills so that she could be released and survive on her own in the ocean. Divers put her food on the bottom of the pool, each day in a different location, so she could practice searching. Arnold is relaxed in her telling, allowing the already dramatic events to unfold naturally: “Everyone cheered as J.J. took a big breath, dove deep, and disappeared. The young whale was on her own.” Full-color photos capture the excitement of J.J.’s release, but also the hard work of preparing her for her return to the sea. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8167-4961-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
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