This entry in the Signs of the Times series is not equal to Ganeri's The Story of Writing and Printing (1996). Here, visual clutter and intellectual imprecision mar the presentation of a subject that demands clarity. There are as many as four illustrations (mostly full-color photographs), one or two fact boxes, a red border of unidentified icons, and up to eight different typefaces per page. Two-page spreads cover subjects such as the need for timekeeping and ancient ways of marking seasons; information comes in short, self-contained paragraphs, with little continuity and with some odd juxtapositions, e.g., a paragraph on the Doomsday Clock (which does not measure time at all but perceived threat of nuclear catastrophe) follows one on atomic clocks, which may lead readers to falsely associate the two. The discussion of time zones is ambiguous: Westbound travelers do lose an hour in crossing each time zone, but in setting back watches or clocks, gain hours in the day. The definitions of a.d. and b.c. are buried in the glossary; the index, misspelling the name of the 17th-century astronomer Johannes Hevelius, is occasionally illogical, listing early Greek and Egyptian topics under A for ``ancient,'' and listing equally antique Babylonian and Roman practices under B and R, respectively. Better books include Brenda Walpole's Time (1995), of equivalent length and reading level, and Franklyn Branley's less colorful but more authoritative Keeping Time (1993). (chronology, glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: July 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-19-521326-2
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1997
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay.
Renowned Latin American writer Alvarez has created another story about cultural identity, but this time the primary character is 11-year-old Miguel Guzmán.
When Tía Lola arrives to help the family, Miguel and his hermana, Juanita, have just moved from New York City to Vermont with their recently divorced mother. The last thing Miguel wants, as he's trying to fit into a predominantly white community, is a flamboyant aunt who doesn't speak a word of English. Tía Lola, however, knows a language that defies words; she quickly charms and befriends all the neighbors. She can also cook exotic food, dance (anywhere, anytime), plan fun parties, and tell enchanting stories. Eventually, Tía Lola and the children swap English and Spanish ejercicios, but the true lesson is "mutual understanding." Peppered with Spanish words and phrases, Alvarez makes the reader as much a part of the "language" lessons as the characters. This story seamlessly weaves two culturaswhile letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life. Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they're being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of la lengua nativa—the mother tongue.
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-80215-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Donavan's friends collect buttons and marbles, but he collects words. ``NUTRITION,'' ``BALLYHOO,'' ``ABRACADABRA''—these and other words are safely stored on slips of paper in a jar. As it fills, Donavan sees a storage problem developing and, after soliciting advice from his teacher and family, solves it himself: Visiting his grandma at a senior citizens' apartment house, he settles a tenants' argument by pulling the word ``COMPROMISE'' from his jar and, feeling ``as if the sun had come out inside him,'' discovers the satisfaction of giving his words away. Appealingly detailed b&w illustrations depict Donavan and his grandma as African-Americans. This Baltimore librarian's first book is sure to whet readers' appetites for words, and may even start them on their own savory collections. (Fiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: June 30, 1994
ISBN: 0-06-020190-8
Page Count: 72
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
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