Not even Lies’s (Hamlet and the Magnificent Sandcastle, not reviewed, etc.) realistically drawn figures—children, Pilgrims, and a recurring, mischievous raccoon—manage to add much substance to this jokey once-over. After explaining why popcorn pops, Landau, author of dozens of poorly researched nonfiction titles, sweeps past its history in the Americas—“Researchers have found 1000-year-old grains of popcorn. That’s older than anyone you know—including your teacher.” Ha ha. She casts doubt on the claim that it was served at the first Thanksgiving, then traces its modern career from curbside attraction to movie-house staple to household snack. After putting a positive spin on popcorn’s nutritional value without caveats about adding oil, butter, or salt, she closes with a tally of suggested toppings (“Ranch or Italian salad dressing mix”—um, maybe not), a recipe for popcorn balls (but not popcorn soup, which gets only a quick, tantalizing mention earlier on), and skimpy lists of books and Web sites. Padded with weak wisecracks, superficial generalizations, and outright filler, this isn’t about to displace Tomie DePaola’s classic Popcorn Book (1978) as an introduction to one of the world’s most popular recreational foods. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2003
ISBN: 1-57091-442-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2002
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
Nolen and Nelson offer a smaller, but no less gifted counterpart to Big Jabe (2000) in this new tall tale. Shortly after being born one stormy night, Rose thanks her parents, picks a name, and gathers lightning into a ball—all of which is only a harbinger of feats to come. Decked out in full cowboy gear and oozing self-confidence from every pore, Rose cuts a diminutive, but heroic figure in Nelson’s big, broad Western scenes. Though she carries a twisted iron rod as dark as her skin and ropes clouds with fencing wire, Rose overcomes her greatest challenge—a pair of rampaging twisters—not with strength, but with a lullaby her parents sang. After turning tornadoes into much-needed rain clouds, Rose rides away, “that mighty, mighty song pressing on the bull’s-eye that was set at the center of her heart.” Throughout, she shows a reflective bent that gives her more dimension than most tall-tale heroes: a doff of the Stetson to her and her creators. (author’s note) (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-15-216472-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Silver Whistle/Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2003
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