A timeless yet fresh story that beautifully connects readers to the natural world.
A middle-grade story rich in natural setting and life lessons.
Tuk is the largest bighorn sheep lamb to be born in many seasons, and matriarch Kenir feels this may be an omen. For years, the winter valley Tuk’s herd depends on for survival has become more and more constricted by humans. The once-plentiful grass has been overgrazed by domesticated sheep, which also bring disease. But Tuk, a visionary, sees a blue mountain in the far distance, and when he becomes a yearling, he leads a small group of fellow yearlings on a quest to find it. Braving wolves, pumas, wolverines and bears, the fledgling band finds the mythical mountain, and in true hero’s-journey fashion, Tuk returns to his old herd to lead them there, thus ensuring everyone’s survival. With its lyrical language (“The loon called, and Tuk wondered if his life was not only one thing, and not only his”), this story of a bighorn sheep who dares to see beyond the well-worn path is not only archetypal in content, but rewarding in narrative. Leavitt tells the story from the animals’ point of view, giving each of them a sturdy character—whether it be brave or wise or, in the case of the ingenuous Mouf, a hilarious cluelessness.
A timeless yet fresh story that beautifully connects readers to the natural world. (Fantasy. 8-14)Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-374-37864-6
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Margaret Ferguson/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious.
If you made a recording to be heard by the aliens who found the iPod, what would you record?
For 11-year-old Alex Petroski, it's easy. He records everything. He records the story of how he travels to New Mexico to a rocket festival with his dog, Carl Sagan, and his rocket. He records finding out that a man with the same name and birthday as his dead father has an address in Las Vegas. He records eating at Johnny Rockets for the first time with his new friends, who are giving him a ride to find his dead father (who might not be dead!), and losing Carl Sagan in the wilds of Las Vegas, and discovering he has a half sister. He even records his own awful accident. Cheng delivers a sweet, soulful debut novel with a brilliant, refreshing structure. His characters manage to come alive through the “transcript” of Alex’s iPod recording, an odd medium that sounds like it would be confusing but really works. Taking inspiration from the Voyager Golden Record released to space in 1977, Alex, who explains he has “light brown skin,” records all the important moments of a journey that takes him from a family of two to a family of plenty.
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-18637-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
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