A better photographer than writer, Maass (Tugboats, 1997) matches bright, revealing color photographs of trash and garbage (he doesn’t distinguish between the two) on its way from lunch table to either landfill or backyard compost pile, with a series of impersonal generalities that rob the journey of most of its interest or educational value. Unusual and fascinating shots of a landfill seemingly the size of a small country, a long conveyor belt lined with sanitation workers sorting recyclables, trash sculptures, big machinery, and the like are weighed down by awkward writing: “In some cities, trucks transfer the garbage to barges.” Other problems include superficialities and self-evident contradictions, as in the view of a landscape carpeted with gulls that is captioned by the claim that landfills are layered with dirt to keep animals away. Simplistic discussions of hazardous waste and composting stretch the already attenuated topical coverage even further. The pictures may be a match for anything else on the subject, but for informational purposes stick with the many more narrowly focused books for younger children on recycling, waste, and sanitation careers. (glossary) (Picture book nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-8050-5951-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
From a velvety moonlit wetland scene in "Big Moon" to the glory of a deciduous forest in the "Moon of Falling Leaves," Locker once again proves himself a gifted landscape artist. In illustrating this Native American lunar calendar, he makes forays beyond the Hudson River valley to the lands of the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne, Cherokee and Huron, Abenaki, Cree, and more, catching the seasons in light, clouds, trees, and wildlife. As in his other books, human and animal figures are rather awkward intrusions, with some exceptions—notably a huge, four-square moose in "Frog Moon." Folklorist Bruchac and poet London work together on brief, dignified retellings of Native American legends for the accompanying text, properly pointing out in an afterword that tribes in different areas see different seasonal patterns and hold different beliefs. (Poetry/Folklore. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 25, 1992
ISBN: 0-399-22141-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1992
Third-grader Chelsea's divorced mother has always told her to stand up for herself, but Chelsea has found it easier to let others take charge; however, now it's time for action. When the fifth-grade boys steal a Barbie doll head and use it for a game of catch, Chelsea demolishes most of one boy's lunch, reforming him on the spot. Screwing up her courage, she asks her father to read to her on their single weekend together. She discovers that her friendship with one girl can survive a few criticisms; she faces down another friend who wants to take advantage of her usual silence. In fact, Chelsea asserts herself at erratic intervals throughout the book, perhaps most stridently in the first chapter's Barbie incident (not constructive problem-solving but effective). As a result, the ending is anticlimactic, if not repetitive. Still, Chelsea is sweetly self-absorbed and imaginative: a genuine character with problems just her size—and solutions all her own. (Fiction. 7-9)*justify no*
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-8075-7552-6
Page Count: 157
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1991
BOOK REVIEW
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