Subtitled ``The Story of Ely,'' this book takes a look at the first year of life for a physically challenged African elephant—also the subject of PBS documentaries—born in Amboseli National Park in Kenya. Moss documents Ely's first year of life: When he is born, he cannot stand up because the first joints of his front legs were bent back and ``completely stiff.'' He cannot stand, nurse, or follow the herd. Only by hobbling on his knees does Ely survive the first day. For the next several days he stretches his partially unbent front legs until finally he is able to stand on the soles of his feet, and eventually learns to walk, too. But his trials are far from over; Ely has trouble feeding himself because his trunk is limp—at one point he accidentally steps on it. Once that's mastered, there is a drought, and the calves in the elephant family learn to eat the dung of the adults. Only when the rains come, at the end of Ely's first year, does his survival seem assured. The wordy text will not distract readers from the drama of Ely's story, nor will the occasionally cluttered layout: With no clear sense of design, close-ups are mingled with distance shots, and full-bleed spreads with framed insets. As is true of Ely, readers will have to work for their reward: a triumphant story of an elephant's survival against the odds. (Picture book/nonfiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-689-80031-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock”...
The theme of persistence (for better or worse) links four tales of magic, trickery, and near disasters.
Lachenmeyer freely borrows familiar folkloric elements, subjecting them to mildly comical twists. In the nearly wordless “Hip Hop Wish,” a frog inadvertently rubs a magic lamp and finds itself saddled with an importunate genie eager to shower it with inappropriate goods and riches. In the title tale, an increasingly annoyed music-hating witch transforms a persistent minstrel into a still-warbling cow, horse, sheep, goat, pig, duck, and rock in succession—then is horrified to catch herself humming a tune. Athesius the sorcerer outwits Warthius, a rival trying to steal his spells via a parrot, by casting silly ones in Ig-pay Atin-lay in the third episode, and in the finale, a painter’s repeated efforts to create a flattering portrait of an ogre king nearly get him thrown into a dungeon…until he suddenly understands what an ogre’s idea of “flattering” might be. The narratives, dialogue, and sound effects leave plenty of elbow room in Blocker’s big, brightly colored panels for the expressive animal and human(ish) figures—most of the latter being light skinned except for the golden genie, the blue ogre, and several people of color in the “Sorcerer’s New Pet.”
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock” music. (Graphic short stories. 8-10)Pub Date: June 18, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-59643-750-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
In these 12 retellings, the Immortals come across as unusually benign. Dionysius at first suggests to King Midas that he give his excess wealth to the poor, for instance; the troubles that Pandora releases are originally imprisoned in the box by Prometheus’s brother Epimetheus out of compassion for humankind; and it’s Persephone herself who begs for a compromise that will allow her to stay with her beloved Hades for six months out of every year. Kimmel relates each tale in easy, natural-sounding language. And even though his Andromeda looks more Celtic than Ethiopian (as the oldest versions of the story have it), Montserrat’s figures combine appropriate monumentality with an appealing expressiveness. The stories are all familiar and available in more comprehensive collections, but the colorful illustrations and spacious page design make this a good choice for shared reading. (foreword) (Nonfiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4169-1534-8
Page Count: 112
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2007
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