This hybrid of poetic text with factual sidebars adequately serves its purpose as a way to interest early grade schoolers in...
As people create more farms in the areas of the African continent formerly populated by cheetahs, the animals have become endangered.
Incorporating two different writing styles in each double-page spread, Stanek aims to appeal to young readers’ emotions and intellect. A poem that begins: “I dream of cheetahs / racing on / across the bright savanna” runs throughout the book, ending with the repetitive phrase: “I dream of cheetahs / racing on… // …extinction / far behind them.” Accompanying the poem’s lines, a factual text explains cheetah behavior and some of the reasons for their endangerment and potential extinction, including increased human activity in their traditional habitat, causing a phenomenon known as “fragmented territory” which “makes it difficult for cheetahs to find mates.” The lines of the poem, which could be read aloud separately to a fairly young audience, and accompanying illustration take up three-quarters of each spread. Varying vertical, generically African-patterned borders break up the right-hand pages, separating the clearly written prose from the poem. The animal paintings, detailed and engaging, are the highlight of this useful book, but the few illustrations of humans are stiff and less successful. Several teaching activities round out the book, with more resources provided by the publisher to be found online. A Spanish-language edition publishes simultaneously in paperback.
This hybrid of poetic text with factual sidebars adequately serves its purpose as a way to interest early grade schoolers in the plight of one endangered species. (bibliography) (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-60718-727-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Arbordale Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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