From the tunnels of ants to the Chunnel connecting England with France, this lively tour of constructed tunnels highlights their variety as it explores their uses and manufacture. Hunter (Into the Sky, 1998, etc.) urges readers along, sprinkling a compact text with entertaining facts—“If you take a train from New York to Los Angeles, you’ll go through 65 mountain tunnels”—and asides. Miller’s cross-sectional illustrations are rendered with solid colors, long, straight lines, and sharp color boundaries, for an orderly, layered look that conveys plenty of activity without seeming cluttered. Younger fans of the wheeled vehicles that are visible here in profusion will want repeat readings. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-7)
Pub Date: March 15, 1999
ISBN: 0-8234-1391-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
This modest, agreeable entry in the My First Look At series shows the life cycle of a mallard duck nesting in an urban park. The text is cumulative, so the line on the first page, “This is the park where Paul plays,” is echoed on the second, “These are the ducks that swim in the park where Paul plays.” In the spring the ducks arrive; they grow all summer long, and fly away in the autumn. Listeners will enjoy the spare, rhythmic telling, while the softly colored drawings of Paul, a shaggy-haired preschooler, are appealing. Additional information, obviously aimed at older readers or for adults to share with children, appears under the flap on each page. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 1-55074-613-8
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
A wild and silly tale is told in rhyme. Farmer Brown enjoys a calm before a storm, listening to the happy sounds of his animals: “Pigs that oinked,/Cows that moo’d,/Sheep that baa’d,/ Doves that coo’d.” A twister hits the farm, scooping up the animals and setting them down gently; while they are not injured, all the languages get mixed up. Farmer Brown can only utter rooster cries, and the rooster, in English, is calling the shots. Cows oink, and clucking sheep are assumed to be laying eggs. It takes another twister to set things right, although the farmer occasionally still crows. The clever and expertly written story will tickle the funny bones of the nursery-school set, although the clutter of the comic illustrations—with dialogue balloons, lines indicating movement, and frenetic action—makes this better for lap-sharing than story hours. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-7894-2512-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
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