Sleator (The Night the Heads Came, 1996, etc.) stretches plenty of catgut in this latest shocker about physical dismemberment. When 15-year-old Doug learns that his botanist father plans to relocate the family to the local forest, he isn't pleased about leaving school or having only his ten-year-old sister, Colette, for a buddy. His unease blossoms into full-blown anxiety when the family reaches their isolated home, a postcard from Twin Peaks, including the housekeeper, Mrs. Slosh, who sports a Halloween mask to cover the nose she can't afford to fix. Colette is unfazed, however, and when the pair discover a trapdoor in their backyard, she jumps down and makes friends with the beasties—or "the family," as they call themselves—subterranean sub-human life forms forced to borrow body parts from humans in order to survive. Fingers, the blind second-in-command, explains that the family's health is linked to the woodlands, which are being deforested by a logging company (Sleator is vague on the details). The plot moves quickly, and soon a war between the beasties and the loggers erupts: All too soon, the remaining beastie tribes are licking their wounds and Doug donates one of his eyes to make Fingers the new queen. The only authentically bizarre moment comes when the children must explain to their parents what happened to Doug's eye. Lots of cheap tricks add up to a rushed and silly sideshow. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-525-45598-1
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1997
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
In this abridged and illustrated version of his Short History of Nearly Everything (2003), Bryson invites a younger crowd of seekers on a tour of time, space and science—from the Big Bang and the birth of the solar system to the growth and study of life on Earth. The single-topic spreads are adorned with cartoon portraits of scientists, explorers and (frequently) the author himself, which go with small nature photos and the occasional chart or cutaway view. Though occasionally subject to sweeping and dubious statements—“There’s no chance we could ever make a journey through the solar system”—Bryson makes a genial guide (“for you to be here now, trillions of drifting atoms had somehow to come together in a complicated and obliging manner to create you”), and readers with even a flicker of curiosity in their souls about Big Ideas will come away sharing his wonder at living in such a “fickle and eventful universe.” (index) (Nonfiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-385-73810-1
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2009
© 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.
