Plenty of eye candy but low on nutritional facts.
High-quality photography compensates, at least in part, for inadequate commentary in this diverse gallery of exotic creatures and behaviors.
In the sharp, bright pictures, an alien-looking anglerfish dangles its glowing lure, a hagfish coils within its cloak of icky slime, and a mimic octopus miraculously morphs into an apparent flounder. These and 13 other land and sea animals pose in riveting close-ups. Alas, the text is not quite so clear. Along with leaving budding naturalists to sound out words like “anemone” and “arowana” on their own, Feldman adds rhetorical interjections (“What a strange way for a bird to get a meal!”) rather than systematic information about each animal’s range or physical characteristics. She also both fails to explain what an arowana actually is (the close-up in this case being a little too extreme) and, with the line “a lizard can break its tail off and run away,” misleadingly implies that any lizard can do this. Mary Kay Carson’s Deadly and Dangerous (978-1-4549-0629-2), publishing simultaneously in the same series, offers even more rousing visuals (notably, in this case, gruesome scenes of predators chowing down) and a somewhat more informative narrative text. Instead of much-needed leads to further information, both volumes close with an unrelated profile of a staff scientist at the American Museum of Natural History and feature a link to the publisher’s site.
Plenty of eye candy but low on nutritional facts. (Informational early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4549-0636-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An effective early chapter book conveyed in a slightly overdone gag.
Epistolary dispatches from the eternal canine/feline feud.
Simon the cat is angry. He had done a good job taking care of his boy, Andy, but now that Andy’s parents are divorced, a dog named Baxter has moved into Andy’s dad’s house. Simon believes that there isn’t enough room in Andy’s life for two furry friends, so he uses the power of the pen to get Baxter to move out. Inventively for the early-chapter-book format, the story is told in letters written back and forth; Simon’s are impeccably spelled on personalized stationery while Baxter’s spelling slowly improves through the letters he scrawls on scraps of paper. A few other animals make appearances—a puffy-lipped goldfish who for some reason punctuates her letter with “Blub…blub…” seems to be the only female character (cued through stereotypical use of eyelashes and red lipstick), and a mustachioed snail ferries the mail to and fro. White-appearing Andy is seen playing with both animals as a visual background to the text, as is his friend Noah (a dark-skinned child who perhaps should not be nicknamed “N Man”). Cat lovers will appreciate Simon’s prickliness while dog aficionados will likely enjoy Baxter’s obtuse enthusiasm, and all readers will learn about the time and patience it takes to overcome conflict and jealousy with someone you dislike.
An effective early chapter book conveyed in a slightly overdone gag. (Fiction. 6-8)Pub Date: May 12, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4492-2
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A spellbinding tale that will never brown or fade with time.
Soup is always the correct solution.
Evergreen, a young squirrel who lives high in a tree in Buckthorn Forest, is afraid of most things, but top of the list is thunderstorms. When her mother, who makes magical soup, asks her to take an acorn full of soup to Granny Oak, who is ill with the flu, Evergreen is afraid that she won’t be brave enough to do it. But she knows she must—and that she must be careful not to spill a drop, as “Granny Oak will need every bit of it to get better.” Setting off, the scared squirrel encounters a menagerie of adventures and forest creatures in her journey. It’s a wild, imaginative read and one that twists and turns like a forest path, with unexpected surprises along the way. Cordell is a masterful storyteller, and readers will love following Evergreen’s journey as she grows into a more confident squirrel. The artwork is the real star of the show, however; there’s a hint of Sendak in the characters’ humorous expressions and in the timeless pen-and-watercolor backgrounds that cry out to be examined in detail. Educators and caregivers will love reading this story aloud in installments, and readers will adore seeing what Evergreen encounters in her travels. A hint of future stories will tantalize readers, who will close the book eager for a new volume to devour.
A spellbinding tale that will never brown or fade with time. (Early chapter book. 6-8)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-31717-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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