Once again, Jennings offers an odd amalgam of historical fiction (set in Depression times) and fantasy. Unfortunately, the fantastic elements are not well integrated, while realistic ones threaten to overwhelm the flow of the story. Edith, 15, known as Dusty, has been abandoned and now lives and works in an isolated logging camp. Desperate to escape, she finds a most unusual method when she discovers a horse made of moss and plants. When more such horses appear, she takes it as a sign that some of the other children there are also meant to leave. Five of them take off on a harrowing journey through mostly uninhabited woods. A brief sojourn with a wild woods-woman teaches them survival skills, but also seems to threaten their emotional survival. Additional details include a mild romance that turns sour, the impregnation of two characters by Dusty’s adoptive father, the discovery of the suicide of the mother of one of Dusty’s companions and the revelation that Dusty’s father made sexual advances to her before abandoning her. Well-written but overwrought. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2006
ISBN: 1-4231-0010-7
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2006
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
Baker (Big Fat Hen, 1994, etc.) engages in more number play, posing ducklings in every combination of groups, e.g., “Splashing as they leap and dive/7 ducklings, 2 plus 5.” Using a great array of streaked and dappled papers, Baker creates a series of leafy collage scenes for the noisy, exuberant ducklings to fill, tucking in an occasional ladybug or other small creature for sharp-eyed pre-readers to spot. Children will regretfully wave goodbye as the ducks fly off in neat formation at the end of this brief, painless introduction to several basic math concepts. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-292858-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
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