HOW SWEET IT IS (AND WAS)

Name: HOW SWEET IT IS (AND WAS)
Author: Ruth Freeman Swain
ISBN: 0-8234-1712-3

THE HISTORY OF CANDY

by Ruth Freeman Swain & illustrated by John O’Brien ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 2003

Kids and candy naturally go together and this brief history of types of candies and chewing gum is cunningly sweetened with O’Brien’s finely crosshatched, stippled illustrations. The handwritten-style text explains the origins of sugar, chocolate, and the word “candy,” always addressing the reader in the second-person. The wryly humorous drawings mockingly construe reenactment scenes, e.g., an Indian woman collects maple syrup by standing on a stack of pancakes; kids ride bikes and velocipedes made of peppermint penny candies. A fascinating four-page time line runs from 1493, when Columbus took sugar cane seedlings to the Americas, to 1900, when Milton Hershey made a five-cent chocolate bar, to 1999, when radio lollipops were invented. Recipes for Sugar Paste, Vassar Fudge, and Belly-Guts Taffy included. An average American eats 25 pounds of candy per year—indeed, how sweet it is! (brief bibliography) (Nonfiction. 6-10)

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2003

ISBN: 0-8234-1712-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Holiday House

Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2003

Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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UNDERWEAR
by Ruth Freeman Swain & illustrated by John O’Brien

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HAIRDO!
by Ruth Freeman Swain & illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith

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BEDTIME!
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WILD, WILD WOLVES

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

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 20, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1992

Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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RIVER STORY

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

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)