Four short stories about different periods in Texas history, each designed to highlight a style (or styles) of dwelling and tell how it was a product of—and how it influenced—its time and place. Covered are the Comanche high plains tipis, West Texas soddies, East Texas dog-trot cabins, plantation mansions, and 1930s city architecture. The stories end with factual explanations and drawings. What could have been a tiresome exercise in forcing fiction around an educational intent is redeemed by some page-turning storytelling, filled with intricate construction detail. With appeal for children beyond the borders of Texas, the book would work with any curriculum dealing with westward expansion or Native Americans. If there were more books like this, social studies would be everyone's favorite subject. (Short stories. 9-12)
Pub Date: Nov. 29, 1996
ISBN: 1-57168-102-7
Page Count: 128
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
Lovely but overwritten.
A young caribou blessed with the ability to see beyond what the other members of his herd can is given a dangerous task that can change the course of nature.
Charged with waking the spirits of humans, who in their slumber have forgotten their connection to nature, young Bou must travel deep into the Arctic Canadian wilderness to find a sacred plant. All manner of forest and magical creatures assist him in his quest. Gnomes, trolls, fairies, eagles, and wolves give all that they have, even their own lives and those they love, to help him succeed. But a terrible enemy also walks the path, hoping to take the power of the mystical Breschuvine for himself. Lyrical prose and lush description depict a world where nature and magic intersect. And while it is clear that evil and good exist in the woods, it is also evident that the world is a dangerous place and death is an inevitable part of life. Bou is a likable protagonist, but slow pacing as well as frequent moments where the descriptive writing overwhelms the story, forcing it into the background, hobble this tale. Substantial paragraphs of sensory-rich prose describing seasonal transitions or the terrain Bou navigates are impressive, but too often they act as roadblocks to the action rather than resting places. The environmental message is subtle but effective.
Lovely but overwritten. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-92708-337-6
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Fifth House
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
Overstuffed. (Fantasy. 9-12)
Lorelei is an 11-year-old white girl whose parents and little brother disappeared mysteriously while the family was on a camping trip in the mountains to view a comet.
She is taken in by an aunt and uncle who don't believe that she actually saw a tentacled monster abduct her family. When Lorelei makes one last visit to her former family home, about to be sold, she stumbles into a portal that takes her into the world of Veloran, the titular Wishing World, where she bumps into a strange set of allies who seem to have knowledge of the monster that took her family. Initially, there are some humorous moments that kids will appreciate, and to imagine a comet as an inhabited magical world is an impressive premise. Unfortunately, Fahnestock jumps right into the otherworldly, leaving little room for buildup. The pacing is swift as Lorelei encounters an inundation of odd fantastical beasts, and readers may have trouble keeping up. It’s as if Fahnestock wanted to insert every single weird creature he could imagine into one story. For example, there are the dog-sized cockroaches, a knight-carrying pug, and the rainbow assortment of Spanglish-speaking Flimflams that, as Lorelei describes, sound "like a couple of the kids at my school who were from Mexico." The story relies on an abundance of whimsy, which crowds out the moral conflicts that could have given it needed weight.
Overstuffed. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7653-8588-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Starscape/Tom Doherty
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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