In their fourth entry in this nature series, collaborators Winer and Oliver (Birds Build Nests, 2002, etc.) again utilize their successful format to explore the world of frogs through lyrical rhyming text and exquisitely detailed watercolor paintings. Winer’s patterned text uses five lines for each verse, conveying basic information about how, when, where, and why frogs make their distinctive sounds. A few of the rhymes are strained, but the repetitive structure and rich vocabulary will work well for reading aloud in classroom situations. Oliver’s meticulous watercolor illustrations show every wrinkle and wart, with varying perspectives that add another layer of interest. Each full-page illustration shows a different frog within its particular environment, often with the distinctive addition of another interesting creature or plant. One particularly memorable painting shows an Asian horned frog in the foreground camouflaged within brown leaves, juxtaposed against the surprising backdrop of a tiger’s striped face. Each frog is also shown in a smaller, single illustration above the verses, and these illustrations are used as the key to two final pages of more specific information about each type of frog, including their Latin names. An illustration of the frog life cycle is incorporated into the title page, and a bibliography of additional resources is appended, including both print and online sources. (Nonfiction. 5-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2003
ISBN: 1-57091-548-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-81175-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998
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