An engaging slice of history that should appeal to young canine enthusiasts while demonstrating the solid use of primary...
A children’s book presents the true story of a dog with unexplained abilities who delighted audiences in the 1930s.
In this work, Figley (Santa’s Underwear, 2016, etc.) introduces the Llewellin setter known as Jim the Wonder Dog, in honor of his phenomenal ability to understand and answer questions. The author follows Jim from puppyhood—he was a runt left with Missouri hotel owner Sam VanArsdale, who first valued his surprising skill at bird hunting—to the monument that still stands at his grave. Although he helped VanArsdale flush out thousands of birds, Jim’s defining talent was his ability to answer questions with a degree of comprehension few would expect in a dog, identifying trees by species, pointing out a guest staying in a particular room, and indicating which man in a group had the most money in his pocket. Jim’s abilities brought him local fame, though VanArsdale turned down both Hollywood endorsements and attempts to profit on Jim’s ability to pick winners at the racetrack. Although the book addresses the skepticism that some contemporaries expressed, Figley has chosen to take the stories of Jim, drawn largely from a locally produced documentary, at face value. An author’s note explores the value of such oral histories as primary sources and provides guidance for young readers on evaluating the material. The account avoids speculating about the causes of Jim’s talents, and while readers may wish for a tidy explanation, that decision ensures the narrative follows the historical record. Figley’s prose is matter-of-fact (“They hunted all day. Jim performed like a bird-dog genius over and over again”), and the story moves at an appropriate pace, keeping readers engaged without adding artificial tension to a simple plot. The work does an excellent job of drawing attention to a little-known piece of history without overstating its importance, giving Jim credit for intriguing and amusing many observers during a difficult time without claiming he changed the world.
An engaging slice of history that should appeal to young canine enthusiasts while demonstrating the solid use of primary sources.Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-937054-41-0
Page Count: 72
Publisher: The RoadRunner Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Bishop’s spectacular photographs of the tiny red-eyed tree frog defeat an incidental text from Cowley (Singing Down the Rain, 1997, etc.). The frog, only two inches long, is enormous in this title; it appears along with other nocturnal residents of the rain forests of Central America, including the iguana, ant, katydid, caterpillar, and moth. In a final section, Cowley explains how small the frog is and aspects of its life cycle. The main text, however, is an afterthought to dramatic events in the photos, e.g., “But the red-eyed tree frog has been asleep all day. It wakes up hungry. What will it eat? Here is an iguana. Frogs do not eat iguanas.” Accompanying an astonishing photograph of the tree frog leaping away from a boa snake are three lines (“The snake flicks its tongue. It tastes frog in the air. Look out, frog!”) that neither advance nor complement the action. The layout employs pale and deep green pages and typeface, and large jewel-like photographs in which green and red dominate. The combination of such visually sophisticated pages and simplistic captions make this a top-heavy, unsatisfying title. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-590-87175-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
Troubled teen meets totemic catalyst in Mikaelsen’s (Petey, 1998, etc.) earnest tribute to Native American spirituality. Fifteen-year-old Cole is cocky, embittered, and eaten up by anger at his abusive parents. After repeated skirmishes with the law, he finally faces jail time when he viciously beats a classmate. Cole’s parole officer offers him an alternative—Circle Justice, an innovative justice program based on Native traditions. Sentenced to a year on an uninhabited Arctic island under the supervision of Edwin, a Tlingit elder, Cole provokes an attack from a titanic white “Spirit Bear” while attempting escape. Although permanently crippled by the near-death experience, he is somehow allowed yet another stint on the island. Through Edwin’s patient tutoring, Cole gradually masters his rage, but realizes that he needs to help his former victims to complete his own healing. Mikaelsen paints a realistic portrait of an unlikable young punk, and if Cole’s turnaround is dramatic, it is also convincingly painful and slow. Alas, the rest of the characters are cardboard caricatures: the brutal, drunk father, the compassionate, perceptive parole officer, and the stoic and cryptic Native mentor. Much of the plot stretches credulity, from Cole’s survival to his repeated chances at rehabilitation to his victim being permitted to share his exile. Nonetheless, teens drawn by the brutality of Cole’s adventures, and piqued by Mikaelsen’s rather muscular mysticism, might absorb valuable lessons on anger management and personal responsibility. As melodramatic and well-meaning as the teens it targets. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2001
ISBN: 0-380-97744-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
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