A brief, current tour of the nine planets and sixty-one moons in our solar system. Despite the subtitle, ``A Beginner's Guide to Planets and Moons,'' novices will find the rather dense, three- column text challenging. Dickinson (Exploring the Night Sky, 1989) is extremely knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and comfortable with his topic. He spices the facts with references to Star Wars, 2001, Edgar Rice Burrough's novels, and anecdotes about scientific discoveries and personalities. The text is accompanied by full- color photographs and paintings (a key in the back clues readers in to which are photos and which are artists' beautiful renditions- -many are otherwise impossible to tell apart). Have this one ready, not for beginners, but for experienced enthusiasts who want the latest information on celestial bodies. (statistics, diagrams, charts, chronology, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1995
ISBN: 1-895565-71-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Firefly
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
Miranda’s book counts the monsters gathering at a birthday party, while a simple rhyming text keeps the tally and surveys the action: “Seven starved monsters are licking the dishes./Eight blow out candles and make birthday wishes.” The counting proceeds to ten, then by tens to fifty, then gradually returns to one, which makes the monster’s mother, a purple pin-headed octopus, very happy. The book is surprisingly effective due to Powell’s artwork; the color has texture and density, as if it were poured onto the page, but the real attention-getter is the singularity of every monster attendee. They are highly individual and, therefore, eminently countable. As the numbers start crawling upward, it is both fun and a challenge to try to recognize monsters who have appeared in previous pages, or to attempt to stay focused when counting the swirling or bunched creatures. The story has glints of humor, and in combination with the illustrations is a grand addition to the counting shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201835-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
The Pumpkin Book (32 pp.; $16.95; Sept. 15; 0-8234-1465-5): From seed to vine and blossom to table, Gibbons traces the growth cycle of everyone’s favorite autumn symbol—the pumpkin. Meticulous drawings detail the transformation of tiny seeds to the colorful gourds that appear at roadside stands and stores in the fall. Directions for planting a pumpkin patch, carving a jack-o’-lantern, and drying the seeds give young gardeners the instructions they need to grow and enjoy their own golden globes. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 1999
ISBN: 0-8234-1465-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
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