Readers looking for a story collection with environmental themes and minimal didacticism may find what they want here....
This lovely British collection contains retellings of 10 traditional tales from around the world, revised to emphasize living simply and in peace and harmony with the Earth and its animals.
Some of the stories are revisions of familiar tales (Persephone and Demeter, the Tower of Babel and "The Fisherman and His Wife"), while others are less familiar. "The Hunter and the Swan" (from the Far East), "The Saint and the Blackbird" (from Britain) and "The Panda’s Tale" (from China), among others, teach kindness to animals. In "Maha and the Elephant," from Thailand, elephants warn humans of a coming tsunami. Not surprisingly, in more than one tale human greed is contrasted with caring and generosity. The words flow smoothly and make for fine reading aloud. Ray’s charming illustrations, many with her trademark intricate stylization, are an excellent complement to these gentle, nature-loving tales. Unfortunately, although the tales are briefly attributed to regions (Africa, South America) and countries (Thailand, Greenland), no specific sources are cited.
Readers looking for a story collection with environmental themes and minimal didacticism may find what they want here. (Folktales. 5-10)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7459-6157-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Lion/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: June 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.
This book is buzzing with trivia.
Follow a swarm of bees as they leave a beekeeper’s apiary in search of a new home. As the scout bees traverse the fields, readers are provided with a potpourri of facts and statements about bees. The information is scattered—much like the scout bees—and as a result, both the nominal plot and informational content are tissue-thin. There are some interesting facts throughout the book, but many pieces of trivia are too, well trivial, to prove useful. For example, as the bees travel, readers learn that “onion flowers are round and fluffy” and “fennel is a plant that is used in cooking.” Other facts are oversimplified and as a result are not accurate. For example, monofloral honey is defined as “made by bees who visit just one kind of flower” with no acknowledgment of the fact that bees may range widely, and swarm activity is described as a springtime event, when it can also occur in summer and early fall. The information in the book, such as species identification and measurement units, is directed toward British readers. The flat, thin-lined artwork does little to enhance the story, but an “I spy” game challenging readers to find a specific bee throughout is amusing.
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere. (Informational picture book. 8-10)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-500-65265-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A gleeful game for budding naturalists.
Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.
In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781728271170
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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