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YOU DON'T NEED WORDS!

Name: YOU DON'T NEED WORDS!
Author: Ruth Belov Gross
ISBN: 0-590-43897-2

A BOOK ABOUT WAYS PEOPLE TALK WITHOUT WORDS

by Ruth Belov Gross & illustrated by Susannah Ryan ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1991

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An easily read survey of nonverbal communication: facial expressions (but not unconscious body language); familiar gestures like beckoning and more formal hand and arm signals; gestures common to Native Americans and people using American Sign; others that mean quite different things in different cultures (in Swaziland, a throat-cutting motion means ``I love you''); pictures, picture-writing, and nonverbal signage; signal flags, etc. The book is not carefully organized—Gross skips from one subject to another, then reverts to an earlier one—but it includes a fair amount of useful information. Ryan's illustrations are undistinguished but clear and serviceable- -except for one inexcusable nonverbal message: a particularly obnoxious caricature of a stereotypical librarian. An adequate concept book on a subject of interest. Nonfiction/Picture book. 6-10)

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1991

ISBN: 0-590-43897-2

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1991

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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WILD, WILD WOLVES

by Joyce Milton & illustrated by Larry Schwinger ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1992

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At ``Step 2'' in the useful ``Step into Reading'' series: an admirably clear, well-balanced presentation that centers on wolves' habits and pack structure. Milton also addresses their endangered status, as well as their place in fantasy, folklore, and the popular imagination. Attractive realistic watercolors on almost every page. Top-notch: concise, but remarkably extensive in its coverage. A real bargain. (Nonfiction/Easy reader. 6-10)

Pub Date: April 1, 1992

ISBN: 0-679-91052-2

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1992

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
DINOSAUR DAYS
by Joyce Milton ; illustrated by Franco Tempesta

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RIVER STORY

by Meredith Hooper & illustrated by Bee Willey ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2000

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Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)