Lift-the-flap factoids and a Ms. Frizzle wannabe form the gimmicks obviously designed to make this effort stand out from a crowded pack—with limited success. “Angel Finn” narrates this compendium of shark facts, beginning with a quick physical description and ending with the news that “many sharks are now endangered.” In between, readers are treated to discussions of prehistoric sharks, shark habitats, feeding habits and reproduction, in no discernible progression. The lift-the-flap elements pose questions that may or may not have occurred to readers (“Why do sharks bite metal cages?”) and reveal answers in a forced attempt to draw kids in—and they’re flimsy, to boot. Angel, a cartoony sketch with long blonde hair, appears placed against full-bleed photographs, some computer-generated (although no acknowledgement of this is made in the text). Most photographs feature gaping, toothy mouths. All in all, it’s a model of sensationalism in science books for kids, and lacking both the gravitas and the artistry of Nicola Davies’s Surprising Sharks (2003) or Jim Arnosky’s All About Sharks (2003). This offering is the very definition of “additional purchase.” (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 6-10)
Pub Date: July 18, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-7534-6064-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kingfisher
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2007
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading.
When Franklin School principal Mr. Boone announces a pet-show fundraiser, white third-grader Cody—whose lack of skill and interest in academics is matched by keen enthusiasm for and knowledge of animals—discovers his time to shine.
As with other books in this series, the children and adults are believable and well-rounded. Even the dialogue is natural—no small feat for a text easily accessible to intermediate readers. Character growth occurs, organically and believably. Students occasionally, humorously, show annoyance with teachers: “He made mad squinty eyes at Mrs. Molina, which fortunately she didn’t see.” Readers will be kept entertained by Cody’s various problems and the eventual solutions. His problems include needing to raise $10 to enter one of his nine pets in the show (he really wants to enter all of them), his troublesome dog Angus—“a dog who ate homework—actually, who ate everything and then threw up afterward”—struggles with homework, and grappling with his best friend’s apparently uncaring behavior toward a squirrel. Serious values and issues are explored with a light touch. The cheery pencil illustrations show the school’s racially diverse population as well as the memorable image of Mr. Boone wearing an elephant costume. A minor oddity: why does a child so immersed in animal facts call his male chicken a rooster but his female chickens chickens?
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-374-30223-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
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