A perfunctory introduction to seven ``monsters'' that might or might not be hiding out in some of the world's wilder places: the human-like Bigfoot, Yeti, and Mongolian Almas; Nessie, and Lusca, the giant octopus; the dinosaurian Mokele-Mbembe and the huge winged Kongamato, both of tropical Africa. All get unskeptical essays describing efforts to track them down and identify them, prefaced by fictional encounters—Bigfoot briefly kidnaps a young hunter; Kongamato buzzes a white man who spurns the protective magic of his native guide; a young Sherpa and her grandfather bait a trap for Yeti with beer; etc. Walker is no storyteller; though his language is sometimes lurid (``Between the tall trees, gnarled manzanita bushes grow like blood-red demons''), the episodes have a sameness—the monster appears, makes menacing gestures at a terrified human, and departs or escapes. Noonan's small, undetailed portraits lend some drama but are more suggestive than accurate; Kongamato, for instance, is seen with a long tail, though it's described in the text as a pterodactyl (and therefore tailless, or nearly so). Supplementary at best. The annotated bibliography, characteristically, mentions none of Daniel Cohen's books. (Nonfiction. 10-13)
Pub Date: March 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-15-207147-4
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The author of Baseball in April (1990) offers 13 more domestic reversals of fortune. Javier snaps a picture of Angel in the shower and threatens ``Blackmail''; Alex's ``First Job'' turns into disaster when he accidentally sets a neighbor's fence afire; Robert almost botches his one line in ``The School Play'' (about the Donner party); Jose challenges new classmate Estela to a game of racquetball—which he's never played—and is wiped out; flying is not the peak experience Araceli expects when she signs up for a ``Nickel-a-Pound Plane Ride,'' etc. As always, Soto shows that the concerns and triumphs of Latino children are no different from anyone's, and though he respects his characters, their misadventures are treated with a light touch—vignettes rather than life-changing incidents. Also as usual, the narrative is sprinkled with Spanish words and idioms, defined at the back- -excellent flavoring but, for many, extra work. (Short Stories. 10-13)
Pub Date: April 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-15-248117-6
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1993
A fluffy tale about a teenager who learns that a little understanding goes a long way. When Jennifer's letter complaining about her family wars is printed in Totally Teens magazine, she decides to follow the advice-columnist's suggestion to put herself in other people's shoes. Results are immediate: a few considerate acts later, her four brothers and sisters are getting along famously; even her parents cut their latest fight short. But Jennifer herself has ups and downs—floating on air when classmate Brandon skates with her at the rink, in the dumps when he invites another to the eighth-grade dance. Ewing's chatty, first-person text is printed in large, well-leaded type punctuated with CAPITAL LETTERS, exclamation points, and a few realistic b&w line drawings by Judith Hunt. In a conclusion only the most passive readers will fail to anticipate, Jennifer spurns the efforts of friends, and even teacher Sister Kristie Anne, to get her a date, and then on the night of the dance runs into another classmate who announces that he's been trying to ask her for some time. All's well.... The title is the heaviest part of this easy-reading floater. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 9, 1992
ISBN: 1-56397-117-8
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1992
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