Broad, illuminating, and overall upbeat.
A chronicle of the wanton destruction of North America’s bison population and recent efforts to restore it to surviving vestiges of its original range.
Anderson, an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa in North Dakota, joins Markle to provide an Indigenous perspective on the “Great Slaughter” and its devastating effects both on Native cultures and on the entire continent’s prairie ecosystem. The authors demonstrate how the killings were a part of a larger genocidal history in which smallpox outbreaks, forced relocation to reservations, and the establishment of Indian boarding schools also played roles. Much of the rather relentless tally of multiple early bison conservation efforts both in the U.S. and Canada that have continued and are still under way may lose readers, but some examples do stand out enough to be memorable—such as the 45,000 head that now roam late media mogul Ted Turner’s properties, and the claim that herds have been restored to over a million acres of tribal lands. It sounds like a success story, and in at least some ways it is. Large period or modern photos on every page provide their shaggy subjects with plenty of visual exposure, and a generous list of books and documentary videos at the end supplies more. Along with personal notes from the authors, the back matter also includes an Anishinaabe folktale explaining how the buffalo got its hump.
Broad, illuminating, and overall upbeat. (source notes, glossary, bibliography, further reading, index, photo credits) (Informational picture book. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9798348030384
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In this glossy photo essay, the author briefly recounts the study and exploration of the moon, beginning with Stonehenge and concluding with the 1998–99 unmanned probe, Lunar Prospector. Most of the dramatic photographs come from NASA and will introduce a new generation of space enthusiasts to the past missions of Project Mercury, Gemini, and most especially the moon missions, Apollo 1–17. There are plenty of photographs of various astronauts in space capsules, space suits, and walking on the moon. Sometimes photographs are superimposed one on another, making it difficult to read. For example, one photograph shows the command module Columbia as photographed from the lunar module and an insert shows the 15-layer space suit and gear Neil Armstrong would wear for moonwalking. That’s a lot to process on one page. Still, the awesome images of footprints on the moon, raising the American flag, and earthrise from the moon, cannot help but raise shivers. The author concludes with a timeline of exploration, Web sites, recommended books, and picture credits. For NASA memorabilia collectors, end papers show the Apollo space badges for missions 11–17. Useful for replacing aging space titles. (Nonfiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-57091-408-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
Thousands of years ago, the Komodo dragon may have inspired dragon legends in China and beyond. In more recent times, researchers from all over the world have traveled to the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia to study the Komodo dragon. This lively if somewhat haphazardly organized account focuses on the efforts of contemporary researchers, presents some of their cooler findings (female dragons can reproduce through parthenogenesis; their saliva is laced with deadly bacteria) and profiles a few captive specimens. Mostly color photographs from a variety of sources adorn almost every page, and captions add to the information. Learning about the Komodo dragon is not for the faint of heart, and the photos show the wild beasts in all their gory glory. The extensive backmatter includes brief facts about Indonesia, more information on the Komodo dragon life cycle and its use of smell and conservation information. A portion of the sales will be donated to the Komodo Survival Program. (bibliography, further reading, glossary, websites, index, author’s note) (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59078-757-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
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