A vivid and disturbing look at the effects of the Vietnam conflict on both its survivors and those who love them. Lisa Grey’s father was killed in Vietnam, and her mother, Mary Ann, served as a nurse there. Ten years later, her mother’s fears and nightmares are getting worse instead of better with the passage of time. Lisa and little sister Jenny do their best to cope and to help, but the long-over war is starting to ruin their lives, too. When Lisa’s history class begins a month-long study of the war, she is horrified: Is there nowhere she is safe from discussion of that awful place? Matt Parker, a Vietnam veteran who lost his legs, comes to talk to the class; upon hearing that Lisa’s mother served at Chu Lai, he asks to meet her, to thank her as one of the nurses who saved the lives of so many soldiers. Through his patience and understanding, Matt helps Mary Ann understand what has happened to her, and why her year in Vietnam was not only the worst of her life, but the best. When in a final, gritty scene, the Greys and Matt visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., they experience its power, and readers know that the long, arduous process of healing has finally begun. The story takes no position on the war, but Antle instills a powerful message about its after-effects into an outwardly simple, telling story of the Grey girls and their mother. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: June 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-8037-2299-0
Page Count: 138
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1998
The diet revolution, formally reserved for adolescents and adults, takes front and center stage in a picture book that purports to be a lesson in self-esteem. When faced with an acting audition in a local play, would-be actress Hillary the cat, formerly happy with herself, looks in the mirror and finds she is too round. Goaded on by her sister, slim Felice the diet queen, Hillary suddenly adopts the strict regimen of eating dry toast, watery soup, and a bowl of lettuce while working out at all hours on the stairstepper. The motives overtake story in a well-meaning but heavy-handed message when Hillary sees the much-admired actress/singer Nina Clophoofer, who is not only round, but happy and comfortable with herself. These cartoon creatures from Caple resemble a pleasant cross between Aliki’s characters and Nancy Carlson’s, but the story is too self-conscious and unintentionally inspiring: Children who have no weight problem and who have never considered the possibility of being either too large or too small may suddenly be checking their mirrors. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: March 2, 1999
ISBN: 1-57505-261-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
A weak story that has echoes of familiar folktales, but no resonance. A selfish crocodile who lived “deep in the forest” commands all the other animals to stay away from the river, which he considers his. “I’ll eat you up!” he warns. The animals have to walk “for miles out of their way” to find drinking water. One day the crocodile has a toothache, and when the others are too frightened to get close, a mouse pulls the tooth and promises to help him in the future. Consequently, the crocodile invites all the creatures to enjoy the river, although the connection between having a friend and declaring open house is left vague. The illustrations have a greeting-card charm, with 13 animals trudging off for water bearing the same pop-eyed, frowning expression. When the crocodile groans in pain, the animals don’t look toward the source of sound, but up in the air at the words “GROAN . . . GROAN.” (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1999
ISBN: 1-888444-56-8
Page Count: 28
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
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