paper 1-55209-334-4 A flawed collection of full-color photographs and half-page descriptions of 26 animals, plants, and phenomena associated with the arctic region. Lynch organizes his material alphabetically, but aims his comments at far older children than the usual ABC-audience. He first provides three different ways of defining “arctic region,” but doesn’t tell readers which one he’s electing to use. He covers, briefly, such topics as the Aurora Borealis; the jaeger, a bird, who steals food by dive-bombing successful hunters; and the lousewort and how it received its name. An extremely questionable inclusion in an alphabet of mostly plants and animals is I for “Inuit,” “smart people who lived where no white person was able to live.” Despite the author’s many careful firsthand observations, which intrigue, answer questions, and raise new areas for investigation, this volume is of limited use.(Picture book/nonfiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 1-55209-336-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Firefly
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1999
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
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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