by Robert Sabuda ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1999
Sabuda (Christmas Alphabet, 1994, etc.) illustrates this original tale of the origin of the northern lights with spread-filling, eye-catching batik art. Although her village is being terrorized by a brutal blizzard, when a young seamstress, Teune, accidentally destroys its robe, and therefore its power, she braves the anger of her people to create a beautiful replacement. In return, the blizzard leaves the sky full of dancing lights. Blizzard, depicted as a great scowling mask, swirls commandingly through marbled, multi-hued skies, but the robe, with its fur-trimmed, vividly-colored panels, and strong geometric designs, is the book’s visual centerpiece, setting the stage for a glorious light show at the end. Matching striking illustrations to a plot in which the creative impulse must be served at the expense of both personal and public safety, Sabuda offers a story as provocative as it is mighty. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-689-31988-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1999
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adapted by Charlotte Craft ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1999
PLB 0-688-13166-2 King Midas And The Golden Touch ($16.00; PLB $15.63; Apr.; 32 pp.; 0-688-13165-4; PLB 0-688-13166-2): The familiar tale of King Midas gets the golden touch in the hands of Craft and Craft (Cupid and Psyche, 1996). The author takes her inspiration from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s retelling, capturing the essence of the tale with the use of pithy dialogue and colorful description. Enchanting in their own right, the illustrations summon the Middle Ages as a setting, and incorporate colors so lavish that when they are lost to the uniform gold spurred by King Midas’s touch, the point of the story is further burnished. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-13165-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
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by Joanna Cole ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1999
The way-off-road vehicle (The Magic School Bus and the Electric Field, 1997, etc.) tours the ears, eyes, nose, and skin when the assistant principal, Mr. Wilde, accidentally shrinks the school bus and the children on board, commandeering it to deliver a message to Ms. Frizzle. The vehicle plunges into the eye of a police officer, where the students explore the pupil, the cornea, the retina, and the optic nerve leading to the brain. Then it’s on to other senses, via the ear of a small child, the nose of a dog, and the tongue of the Friz herself. Sidebars and captions add to the blizzard of information here; with a combination of plot, details, and jokes, the trip is anything but dull. The facts will certainly entice readers to learn more about the ways living creatures perceive the world. (Picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-590-44697-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
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