An information-rich tale of reciprocity between Arctic families and the natural world.
A curious girl named Akuluk visits her family in Nunavut to learn the language and life ways of her ancestors.
When Akuluk arrives at her aunt and uncle’s on a solo trip to visit her northern relatives, she also meets her aunt’s new puppies, a litter destined to become sled dogs in the Arctic. She goes to bed, eager for morning, when she will head out into the Arctic Ocean on her uncle’s boat. Bouncing across the waves toward her family’s old campground, she and her relatives see an orphaned beluga taken in by a nearby pod. At every turn, Akuluk learns about the natural world by listening to oral histories, making observations about different species, and using modern technology. Her uncle teaches her about the relationship between polar bears and foxes, and when she returns home, she is surprised by a souvenir on her bed. While the plot feels a bit buried by a great deal of cultural and environmental information, the book will appeal to children who are interested in earth sciences. The story’s pacing is meandering and dense, but the illustrations help by capturing the dynamic northern world with realistic colors and excellent details. An Inuktitut dictionary and pronunciation guide round out this book for older children. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 38.2% of actual size.)
An information-rich tale of reciprocity between Arctic families and the natural world. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-77227-274-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Inhabit Media
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor
Having surveyed worms, spiders, flies, and head lice, Gravel continues her Disgusting Critters series with a quick hop through toad fact and fancy.
The facts are briefly presented in a hand-lettered–style typeface frequently interrupted by visually emphatic interjections (“TOXIN,” “PREY,” “EWWW!”). These are, as usual, paired to simply drawn cartoons with comments and punch lines in dialogue balloons. After casting glances at the common South American ancestor of frogs and toads, and at such exotic species as the Emei mustache toad (“Hey ladies!”), Gravel focuses on the common toad, Bufo bufo. Using feminine pronouns throughout, she describes diet and egg-laying, defense mechanisms, “warts,” development from tadpole to adult, and of course how toads shed and eat their skins. Noting that global warming and habitat destruction have rendered some species endangered or extinct, she closes with a plea and, harking back to those South American origins, an image of an outsized toad, arm in arm with a dark-skinned lad (in a track suit), waving goodbye: “Hasta la vista!”
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor . (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77049-667-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts.
Can knightly deeds bring together a feathered odd couple who are on opposite daily schedules?
Having won over a dragon (and millions of fans) in the Caldecott Honor–winning Knight Owl (2022), the fierce yet impossibly cute nocturnal, armor-clad owlet faces a new challenge—sleep deprivation—in the wake of taking on Early Bird, a trainee who rises with the sun and chatters interminably: “I made pancakes! Do you like pancakes? I love pancakes! Where’s the syrup?” It’s enough to test the patience of even the knightliest of owls, and eventually Knight Owl explodes in anger. But although Early Bird is even smaller than her mentor, she turns out to be just as determined to achieve knighthood. After he tells her to leave, she acquits herself so nobly in a climactic encounter with a pack of wolves that she earns a place at the castle. Denise proves a dab hand at depicting genuinely slinky, scary wolves as well as slipping cheerfully anachronistic newspapers and other sight gags into his realistically wrought medieval settings to underscore the tale’s tongue-in-cheek tone. Better yet, a final view of the doughty duo sitting down together to a lavish pancake breakfast/dinner at dusk ends the episode in a sweet rush of syrup and bonhomie.
An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9780316564526
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
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