The team that collaborated on two previous titles in this series, They Swim the Seas (1998) and Ride the Wind (1997), turns its attention to the overland migration of various groups of animals, including the Lapps of northern Norway. An afterword discussing migration in general briefly mentions several other animals. This section would have profited by continuing as it began with small portraits of the animals under consideration; readers are familiar with wolves and bears, which are illustrated, but may not be able to see in their mind's eyes the European bison, Przewalski's horse, and the saiga, which are not. The journeys of animals treated more fully seem to have been chosen on a desultory but primarily mammalian basis. The migrations of some—caribou and elephant—are clearly shown to be purposeful, whereas the routes of polar bears, traveling on `shifting ice floes and pack ice,` are reported to have definite aims, though no substantiating evidence is offered. Overburdening the capacity of home range pushes Norwegian lemmings into a search for new territory, the largest migration occurring once every 30 years or so. Faced with a body of water, they jump in and try to reach new land, thereby giving rise to the notion that they are suicidal. Described as `small rodents about the size of a fist` (a heavyweight boxer's fist? a six-year-olds?) a couple of lemmings are shown fighting to the death under population pressure in a full-page, otherwise work-a-day illustration. This purportedly informational book may arouse more questions from attentive young readers than it answers. (Nonfiction. 69)
Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-15-292889-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
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