paper 0-15-202052-7 According to the introduction, this gathering of poetry from Europe and the Americas began as clippings in a shoebox, collected over years by Willard (Magic Cornfield, 1997, etc). The selections are meaty, with D.H. Lawrence’s three-line “The White Horse” and Robert Frost’s deliciously eerie, six-page dialogue, “The Witch of Coîs,” at the extremes for length, and make an eclectic mix, leaning toward newer poets but including a Mother Goose rhyme, Christopher Smart’s “For I Will Consider My Cat Jeoffry,” and “Donal Og,” a traditional lament for love betrayed. The arrangement is, broadly, by subject, beginning with Emily Dickinson’s “Will There Really Be a ‘Morning’?” and closing with poems featuring night, death, and dreams. Selections in between touch on wind and water, sensory epiphanies (Pablo Neruda sings an “Ode to a Pair of Socks” while Theodore Roethke’s “Slug” is about stepping on one), animals, children, old folk, and even bodies, as in Lucille Clifton’s “Homage to My Hips.” Few of the poems were written specifically for an audience of the young, but those who aren’t thrown by e.e. cummings’s “If there are any heavens my mother will (all by herself) have” should comprehend the syntax and content of the rest. It’s a highly personal collection, chosen with a fine ear for language and rightfully commended by Willard for “celebrating the ordinary in an unordinary way.” (Poetry. 8-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-15-201849-2
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1998
An encouraging primer that ought to spark interest for further study.
Both fundamentals and peculiarities of language are introduced in this light-handed survey.
There are many facets to the subject, and Isabella manages to hit on a good handful of the more engaging ones. Grammar and syntax, which can be real snoozers, are treated with a measure of humor by mixing up the word order. She tackles the importance of the right vocal equipment and the still-curious role of genetics. But it is when she starts in on words, languages and language families that things really start to get fascinating: There are almost 7,000 languages and that “[n]inety percent of written English uses only 7000 words,” just a fraction of those available. Or that a good number of languages do not have a word for the color blue. It is one of the less important colors when it comes to survival, evidently. Go figure. She covers language extinction without getting too down at the mouth, and she has some fun with the dreaded legalese—“res ipsa loquitor”—as well as the creation of new words, from “kidnapping” to “bargainous.” Isabella’s writing doesn’t rush matters; she explains thoroughly but not tediously. On the other hand, Boake’s artwork—with its taxidermist’s eyes and hyperbuffed coloring—feels like it is trying too hard to be hip.
An encouraging primer that ought to spark interest for further study. (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-55453-787-7
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 11, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Overall, the book offers an appealing introduction to the diverse nations and remarkable resilience of the original...
A comprehensive overview of the Indigenous populations of North America from 100,000 years ago until the present in just over 100 pages is an ambitious undertaking.
Happily, this one is surprisingly successful. A collaboration between Yellowhorn, a Piikani professor of First Nations Studies, and Lowinger, a white children’s author, the text engages readers through a variety of means: stories from different nations, straightforward scientific and historical information, and sections labeled “imagine,” portraying slices of life in various times and places. From captivating origin tales to mind-boggling advances in archaeological technology, there is a little something here for everyone, with stock images that complement the text. It is a pity that the final chapter on modern times was not fleshed out more, leaving out much Native political and environmental activism from the 1960s to the present day as well as continuing struggles over demeaning sports team names and mascots. The list of notable people skews heavily toward men (where are Maria Tallchief and Louise Erdrich?). Oddly, this chapter also consistently refers to Indigenous people as “they” rather than “we,” depriving young Native readers of a more intimate reading experience.
Overall, the book offers an appealing introduction to the diverse nations and remarkable resilience of the original inhabitants of this continent and is likely to inspire respect, pride, and a desire to learn more. (maps, sources, further reading, index not seen) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-55451-944-6
Page Count: 116
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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