Handsome illustrations almost rescue this incoherent tour of the night sky. Heine opens with a set of not-always-felicitous verses—“I’ll spin like a pinwheel / Through the Milky Way’s froth, / Take a ride on the Great Bear / And never fall off”—that bounce the narrator at random from Orion to Earth, then closes with two spreads on the stars and planets that offer such confusing tidbits as: “The methane in [Uranus’s] atmosphere absorbs red light, giving it its green-blue color.” Using a rich palette and flowing lines over starry, airbrushed backgrounds, Tavares places two delighted young explorers in brightly patterned garb soaring atop a celestial bear, flinging a planet like a Frisbee, waving wands or streamers and sailing over elegantly undulant landscapes. The result is a visual treat—but budding stargazers will get a clearer idea of what they’re actually looking at from the likes of Mike Goldsmith’s Solar System (2002) and Jane Ann Peddicord’s Night Wonders (2005). (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 1-905236-36-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
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
Eeney meeney miney moe, catch this series before it goes! (Adventure. 7-9)
Two kids get up close and personal with some great works of art in this first in a new series.
Tiger Brooks is used to his little sister’s fantastical stories. So when the top-hatted orange pig she describes turns out to be not only real, but a next-door neighbor, Tiger enlists the help of his kooky new friend, Luna, to investigate. It turns out the pig works for the reclusive painter Viola Dots. Years ago a magical picture frame swallowed up her only son, and she’s searched for him in artworks ever since. When Tiger’s tinkering starts the magic up again, he and Luna are sucked into a reproduction of Henri Rousseau’s Surprised! or Tiger in a Tropical Storm, hungry predator and all. After meeting and failing to rescue Viola’s son in this adventure, the series is set up for the intrepid pair to infiltrate other classic paintings in the future. Backmatter provides information on the real Rousseau and his life. Oliver keeps the plot itself snappy and peppy. While there are few surprises, there’s also an impressive lack of lag time. This is helped in no small part by Kallis’ art, which goes from pen-and-ink drawings to full-blown color images once the kids cross over into the painting. Tiger is a white boy, and Luna is a dark-haired Latina.
Eeney meeney miney moe, catch this series before it goes! (Adventure. 7-9)Pub Date: April 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-448-48087-9
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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