Golden-brown puppy Biscuit seems to have arrived at superstar status: a stack of related easy-reader titles about the puppy's activities and holidays, four more titles for spring 2001, and over a million Biscuit books in print. (Can the plush toy and animated TV series be far behind?) Capucilli (Biscuit's New Trick, 2000, etc.) has written another simple story about her cavorting canine, this time about his discovery of two playful kittens. Biscuit tries to get them to play puppy-style with a ball or a stick, but the kittens are more interested in chasing insects. The story ends with the kittens still chasing a butterfly, and Biscuit following after his new friends. This entry in the My First I Can Read series is at the emergent level for the newest readers, with simple, repetitive vocabulary and just a few words in large type on each page. The story line is necessarily simplistic due to the format requirements, but there is a clear plot with a subtle lesson about joining into play with others. Biscuit is a charming little fellow, like most puppies, and Schories captures his puppy antics with her conventional illustrations in pen and ink with a watercolor wash. One welcome touch in this series is the gender of Biscuit's owner, a dark-haired little girl (rather than the usual male main character in most easy reader series), joined here by her friend, an Asian girl. Traditional and sweet, just like homemade buttermilk biscuits with honey. (Easy reader. 4-7)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-06-028069-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
Gibberish with meritless pictures. (Picture book. 5-7)
A young girl’s dream takes her on a fantastical adventure.
In what is ostensibly verse, Akley tells of a little girl who has a dream–or perhaps a metaphorical adventure or spiritual awakening–about a gold candlestick. Determined to find the meaning behind it, she embarks on a quest, along the way meeting various preachy animals in different settings. It’s clear that lessons are supposedly being taught, but what exactly that wisdom entails is lost in text that is awkward, lengthy and clichéd. Presented as prose despite the attempted verse, the story fails to generate interest. The accompanying illustrations are unpleasantly colored and amateurish; faces are distorted, and the pictures often deviate from the text. Readers will sense that the girl achieves her quest but will never understand its purpose. Akley claims the story has a basis in the Book of Revelations, but beyond the word “cross” and the possibility of an ever-present shepherd, no actual meaning–religious or secular–is decipherable.
Gibberish with meritless pictures. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: April 13, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-4327-0312-9
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
In The Palm Of Darkness ($21.00; May 1997; 192 pp.; 0-06-018703- 4): A Cuban writers's intensely imaginative portrait of the extremities of Haitian culture rings some fresh changes on the overfamiliar theme of intellectual arrogance humbled by its collision with ``elemental'' peasant wisdom. Montero subtly builds up a revealing contrast between Victor Griggs, a European herpetologist searching for the remaining specimens of an endangered species of amphibian, and his native guide Thierry Adrien's memories of his family's encounter with the island's ubiquitous spirits. This truly original novel is studded with surprises—not least of which is the concept of a species suddenly and entirely disappearing in a milieu where the living and the dead are known to mingle together more or less matter-of-factly. A refreshingly sophisticated treat. (Author tour)
Pub Date: May 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-06-018703-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1997
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