Goble (The Return of the Buffaloes, 1996, etc.) prefaces the story of the first pipe, “the most important of all Lakota sacred legends,” with a Great Flood legend, then appends an account of the meaning attached to the pipe and its parts, along with a finely detailed drawing of a pipe in his possession. In a time of troubles, a mysterious woman comes walking across the prairie. The first man she meets tries to rape her and is blasted into bones; the second she sends as a messenger, so that the people are ready when she presents to them the Sacred Calf Pipe. After her transformation into a white buffalo calf, the buffalo has one more gift, the red stone that is still an integral element of all traditional pipes. Drawn just above ground level and clad in spectacular ceremonial costume, Goble’s stylized figures seem appropriately larger than life, and the Lakota prayers and comments he quotes further enhance the reverent tone. (Picture book/folklore. 7-11)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-7922-7074-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1998
After a huge oil spill in Prince William Sound, Denny finds a slimed baby seal on the beach and takes him to a vet. The seal is cleaned, nursed back to health, and elaborately taught to fend for himself in the wild; meanwhile, Denny witnesses volunteers working to wash beaches, contain the oil slick, and rescue wildlife. This book is completely issue-driven; the writer makes no effort to enliven the bland plot with dramatic tension or details of character. Meanwhile, the big illustrations' yank at the heartstrings seems calculated—after weeks of rehabilitation, the once pathetic seal pup is seen sleeping happily on a pillow, a fuzzy toy seal under his flipper. In an afterword, the author describes children joining the rescue effort after the Alaskan oil spill of '89; those brief paragraphs are a better motivator than the rest of this heavy-handed effort. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-8050-1841-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1992
At her mother's suggestion, Betsy plans a surprise eighth- birthday party for her twin sister, Crista. She quickly finds that it's easier said than done: the sisters are in the same class, share the same room, and even have the same best friends. Meanwhile, she keeps finding Crista and Mom having their own private conversations and everyone giggling about something she's not in on. This is a one-gag story with a weak main character. Betsy seems younger than eight: the concept of a surprise party has to be spelled out for her in detail, and she lacks clever ideas about how to issue her secret invitations. Silly and slight. (Fiction. 7-10)*justify no*
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-8050-1850-6
Page Count: 54
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1991
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