by Lisa Wheeler & illustrated by Kurt Cyrus ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2003
The tale’s tall, even if its hero isn’t, in this rhymed account of a diminutive trail guide’s awesome exploit. Leading a group of snowshoe racers up the slopes of northern Michisota’s Mount Himalachia, four-foot-three-inch Annie Halfpint meets a wild avalanche coming down. Her wide Inuit face lit with glee, she snatches a rope and lassoes the beast, riding it safely down into Yoohoo Valley to the amazement of all. Wheeler tells the tale in sprightly verse—“Her voice booms soft as thunder. / Her hair grows thick as ink. / Her skin feels smooth as gravel. / Her mukluks hold their stink”—aptly reflected in Cyrus’s comic scenes of dismayed hikers, rolling down the hill in a whirl of colorful parkas, amid giant curds of snow. Fans of Sally Ann Crockett, Angelica Longrider (“Swamp Angel”), and other female members of the tall-tale pantheon will definitely be looking up to Annie. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-15-216735-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2003
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by Lisa Wheeler ; illustrated by Barry Gott
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by Lisa Wheeler ; illustrated by Barry Gott
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by Lisa Wheeler ; illustrated by Barry Gott
by Meredith Hooper & illustrated by Bee Willey ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2000
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
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by Meredith Hooper & illustrated by Stephen Biesty
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by Henry Winkler ; Lin Oliver ; illustrated by Scott Garrett ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 14, 2014
An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda.
Hank Zipzer, poster boy for dyslexic middle graders everywhere, stars in a new prequel series highlighting second-grade trials and triumphs.
Hank’s hopes of playing Aqua Fly, a comic-book character, in the upcoming class play founder when, despite plenty of coaching and preparation, he freezes up during tryouts. He is not particularly comforted when his sympathetic teacher adds a nonspeaking role as a bookmark to the play just for him. Following the pattern laid down in his previous appearances as an older child, he gets plenty of help and support from understanding friends (including Ashley Wong, a new apartment-house neighbor). He even manages to turn lemons into lemonade with a quick bit of improv when Nick “the Tick” McKelty, the sneering classmate who took his preferred role, blanks on his lines during the performance. As the aforementioned bully not only chokes in the clutch and gets a demeaning nickname, but is fat, boastful and eats like a pig, the authors’ sensitivity is rather one-sided. Still, Hank has a winning way of bouncing back from adversity, and like the frequent black-and-white line-and-wash drawings, the typeface is designed with easy legibility in mind.
An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-448-48239-2
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
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by Henry Winkler & Lin Oliver ; illustrated by Dan Santat
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by Henry Winkler & Lin Oliver ; illustrated by Ethan Nicolle
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