Another appealing depiction of animal rescue for readers who care about the natural world.
An experienced wildlife photographer documents the work of staff at the Alaska SeaLife Center to save orphaned sea otter babies.
Following the format of Orangutan Orphanage (2016) and Koala Hospital (2015), Eszterhas introduces her young readers to sea otters rescued from all over Alaska and rehabilitated at a medical facility in the aquarium in Seward. She focuses mainly on their experiences there, but she also reports on one otter’s transition from the rescue center to its “forever home” in the Seattle Aquarium. Each spread has a chapter heading, a conversational two- or three-paragraph narrative, a large image (often extending across the fold), and a vignette. These clearly captioned color photos range from close-ups of the otter pups (as on the cover) to examples of staff members interacting with the rescued animals—feeding, grooming, performing medical check-ups, and encouraging learning of life skills. A final chapter presents conservation issues and suggests ways young readers can help. This personal story begins with a "Note from Suzi" summarizing her own history with otters and closes with a set of additional Q-and-A’s headed "Kids ask Suzi." A map of North America indicates the center's location; there's also a glossary, index, acknowledgements, and list of sources (staff interviews and an excellent website readers can also explore).
Another appealing depiction of animal rescue for readers who care about the natural world. (Nonfiction. 7-12)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77147-175-6
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
Chalk up another treat for Korman fans.
Barney was legendary for appalling acts of canine depravity until his recent death; two kids—Zarabeth, his (one) mourner, and Keenan, her at-first-skeptical new friend—investigate his possible murder.
Keenan misses his cosmopolitan life in Shanghai, where his mom and stepdad teach at an international school. Recovering from tuberculosis at his dad’s house on tiny Centerlight Island, divided between the U.S. and Canada, is beyond boring until he meets Zarabeth, with Barney’s well-behaved (but sadly disdained) replacement and colorful tales of famous Prohibition-era gangsters attracted to the quiet island’s largely unguarded international border; Tommy-Gun Ferguson, who built her family’s house, might have hidden his gold bullion on the island. When Keenan, now well, proves popular at his new island school, Zarabeth feels isolated. Centrelight’s few Canadian kids must attend mainland schools via ferry. Not incidentally, the island’s more-numerous American kids resent contrarian Zarabeth’s stubborn advocacy for anything-but-lamented Barney. Now snubbed by Zarabeth, Keenan looks into Barney’s death to appease her—and finds her suspicions well founded. Like the island’s two spellings, Zarabeth’s cross-border observations wryly assert Canadian cultural identity. She and Keenan, both presumed white, alternate narration and are good company. Vivid secondary characters commit spontaneous acts of hilarious mayhem—the unscheduled school-lockdown drill is one standout—though Barney’s extreme depredations (like destroying a Porsche and a house porch in one go) occasionally strain credulity. Readers need to buy such pivotal plot points.
Chalk up another treat for Korman fans. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Dec. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-279886-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2019
A nifty high-seas caper for chapter-book readers with a love of adventure and a yearning for treasure.
It’s not truffles but doubloons that tickle this porcine wayfarer’s fancy.
Funke and Meyer make another foray into chapter-book fare after Emma and the Blue Genie (2014). Here, mariner Stout Sam and deckhand Pip eke out a comfortable existence on Butterfly Island ferrying cargo to and fro. Life is good, but it takes an unexpected turn when a barrel washes ashore containing a pig with a skull-and-crossbones pendant around her neck. It soon becomes clear that this little piggy, dubbed Julie, has the ability to sniff out treasure—lots of it—in the sea. The duo is pleased with her skills, but pride goeth before the hog. Stout Sam hands out some baubles to the local children, and his largess attracts the unwanted attention of Barracuda Bill and his nasty minions. Now they’ve pignapped Julie, and it’s up to the intrepid sailors to save the porker and their own bacon. The succinct word count meets the needs of kids looking for early adventure fare. The tale is slight, bouncy, and amusing, though Julie is never the piratical buccaneer the book’s cover seems to suggest. Meanwhile, Meyer’s cheery watercolors are as comfortable diagramming the different parts of a pirate vessel as they are rendering the dread pirate captain himself.
A nifty high-seas caper for chapter-book readers with a love of adventure and a yearning for treasure. (Adventure. 7-9)Pub Date: June 23, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-37544-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2015
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
