The recycling of paper is not new, nor is racism. This book explores both in the historical context of San Francisco's Chinatown during WW II. Nim is competing in a school newspaper drive to help the war effort. In her free time she scouts out the neighborhood for more paper, red wagon in tow, and runs into her closest competitor, Garland Stephenson. He's not above stealing a pile of papers left for Nim by her aunt, taking new papers from a vendor, or ridiculing Nim by saying that the winner of the competition will be an American, and ``not some Chinese smarty-pants.'' Nim almost gets the last laugh when she discovers a motherlode of newspapers in a garage in Nob Hill, and calls the police to deliver them to her school. However, her discovery makes her late getting home, and she is reprimanded by her grandfather. Nim's close relationship and respect for her grandfather temper her pride in her success. The muted colors of the illustrations and the unhurried beginning create an intimate, if slow-moving, story. What separates this story from simple nostalgia is Lee's close recollection of details—the scarcity of newspaper during the war years, or the flag pin worn by Chinese-Americans (so they would not be identified as ``the enemy''—the Japanese). All these details place the affecting story in a real, not idealized, America. (Picture book. 6+)
Pub Date: March 21, 1997
ISBN: 0-374-35523-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
At ``Step 2'' in the useful ``Step into Reading'' series: an admirably clear, well-balanced presentation that centers on wolves' habits and pack structure. Milton also addresses their endangered status, as well as their place in fantasy, folklore, and the popular imagination. Attractive realistic watercolors on almost every page. Top-notch: concise, but remarkably extensive in its coverage. A real bargain. (Nonfiction/Easy reader. 6-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-679-91052-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
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