Lavish illustrations elevate this adaptation of a classic.
In this retelling of an ancient Chinese poem, a writer imagines the doomed love between the earthly and heavenly in this oversized picture book for older readers.
Returning from a visit with the emperor, poet Cao Zhi passes by the River Luo. “As the ancient tale goes, underneath the river lives a beautiful goddess”—so, as a writer, Cao decides to put forth his own story of a different goddess of the majestic river. Cao’s goddess is ethereal: “she dazzles like the sun rising in the morning…she’s as luminous as the lotus that grows in the shallows.” Love is instant between poet and goddess, but with love comes hesitation and worry. Ultimately, the goddess concludes that “the world of humans and gods could never exist together.” Readers unfamiliar with the poem will likely find the level of narrative detail insufficient, and consequently the melancholy ebbs rather than flows forth. Ye’s illustrations, however, are lush in detail and lovely in strangeness. The illustrator injects traditional elements of Chinese paintings with a modern playfulness and whimsy. Big-eyed fish, fantastical creatures, and odd flora and fauna fill the pages. Elements of the natural world adorn the Goddess of Luo to evoke the otherworldly. Instead of being enrobed by traditional Chinese clothing, a flowing cape ending in a fish tail drapes over her body. Strands of pearls surround her and come to life as fairies. Four multipage gatefolds stunningly capture both the movement in the illustrations and the scale of the tale.
Lavish illustrations elevate this adaptation of a classic. (glossary, notes) (Picture book. 9-14)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-988-8341-94-8
Page Count: 78
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
A prolific reporter of paranormal phenomena strains to bring that same sense of wonder to 12 “transposed”—that is, paraphrased from interviews but related in first person—accounts of extraordinary experiences. Some feats are more memorable than others; compared to Bethany Hamilton’s return to competitive surfing after having her arm bitten off by a shark and Mark Inglis’ climb to the top of Mount Everest on two prosthetic legs, Joe Hurley’s nine-month walk from Cape Cod to Long Beach, Calif., is anticlimactic. Dean Karnazes hardly seems to be exerting himself as he runs 50 marathons on 50 consecutive days, and the comments of an Air Force Thunderbirds pilot and a military Surgeon’s Assistant in Iraq come off as carefully bland. The survivors of a hurricane at sea, a lightning strike and a tornado, on the other hand, tell more compelling stories. Most of the color photos are at least marginally relevant, and each entry closes with a short note on its subject’s subsequent activities. Casual browsers will be drawn to at least some of the reconstructed narratives in this uneven collection. A reading list would have been more useful than the superfluous index, though. Fun, in a scattershot sort of way. (Nonfiction browsing item. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4027-6711-1
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
Stun friends and family members by guessing secret numbers and doing painless long division. Dice and card tricks and finger multiplication are among the fascinating tricks potential mathemagicians will learn to perform. But Colgan goes beyond the ordinary by giving an in-depth, easily understandable explanation of the math behind each trick, as well as any history that might be applicable, too. Not only will readers learn how to multiply large numbers in their heads, they will learn why this trick works and that the early Egyptians used the very same method. Prime numbers, Napier’s bones, division dowels, the binary number system and factoring are just a few areas they will explore. Kids won’t stop with just learning the tricks—the emphasis is on performing them, and the author does a great job of giving tips for a magical performance that is not only believable but entertaining as well. Backmatter includes a glossary, but the language used in the definitions is more advanced than that used in the text, and the terms used within the entries are not always themselves defined. Kurisu’s illustrations emphasize the performance side of mathemagic, showing potential performers how to successfully set up or follow through with specific tricks. Colgan makes math cool, and that speaks for itself. (Nonfiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-55453-425-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2011
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