A detailed story for horse lovers that offers real-world knowledge and messages of strength and purpose.
A YA novel about a young woman and her long-lost stallion taking separate journeys toward fulfillment.
This equine adventure, set in the horse countries of Portugal, California, and Australia, is the first of three planned books in the A Tale of Two Horses series. Horse trainer Anna dreams of becoming a cavaleira (a woman “who fights the bulls on horseback”), so she’s heartbroken when her father sells her favorite young Lusitano stallion, Ulme. As Anna embarks on a search for him, Ulme is resold and ill-used in the bullfighting ring, finally ending up in an Australian dressage stable with a friendly barn-mate named Noodles. The story is illustrated by photographs and enlivened by well-crafted crises (a fire, a flooded barn, injuries, and illness) and colorful turns of phrase, such as Noodles’ view of freestyle horse-and-rider choreography: “That’s a lot of harrumph to push around the arena for six minutes.” As Ulme and Anna find their destinies in dressage, the narration shifts among Anna, the two horses, and fellow trainer Erika; other equine and human voices appear along the way. Layne draws from stories of real-life horses for inspiration, offers details of dressage and other horse facts, and highlights the bonds among horses, riders, and trainers—enough to satisfy any horse fan. However, there are a few errors here and there: the word “smite” is used instead of “spite,” a few lines of text repeat, and the pronunciation of the riding term “levade” is given as “la-veed.” The book also presents bullfighting as a noble sport, showing sympathy for “magnificent horses and cavaleiros” but not for the bulls; Layne explains that in this style of bullfighting, “the bull is not harmed,” as it uses Velcro-tipped poles instead of spears. The book includes a glossary, the stories of the real-life Ulme and Noodles, poems, commentary, and a preview of the next volume in the series.
A detailed story for horse lovers that offers real-world knowledge and messages of strength and purpose.Pub Date: Dec. 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9969349-1-6
Page Count: 122
Publisher: Noodles Tales Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
This should send Dark Knight fans flying to the Batcave—or the bedroom.
Holy bedtime, Batman!
In a sleepy-looking neighborhood under a dusky cerulean sky, a young, brown-haired, white boy goes through the motions of getting ready for bed: he brushes his teeth, takes a bath, picks up his toys, and feeds his fish. In a parallel visual narrative, beckoned by the cat's-eye–yellow bat-signal, Batman keeps Gotham safe for another night by catching crooks, locking them away, and avenging those who have been wronged. Though the two characters are quite different, through a carefully flexible narrative, Dahl and Beavers weave a convincing tale of just how similar they might be. “It’s time to take care of business” describes the child’s trip to the potty and Batman’s dive down a manhole equally well, for instance. Beavers' art is visually striking and vibrantly hued, perfect for keeping young eyes glued to each page. Dahl's economical text is cadenced with a gentle lilt, just right for a bedtime read-aloud. Young fans of the caped crusader will delight in spying their favorite characters. In the already-overstuffed bedtime-book market, this is certainly a niche read, but it hits its mark well, delivering fun without darkness. A “bedtime checklist” at the end aptly includes “story time.”
This should send Dark Knight fans flying to the Batcave—or the bedroom. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62370-732-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
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