“Inside the dark cave, the huge bear reared up on its hind legs and snarled, revealing long, pointed teeth . . . ” So says the blurb, but in the text, the author states: “ . . . experts have concluded that for all their massive bodies, long claws, and pointed canine teeth . . . cave bears were mostly plant-eaters.” Readers lured into this title by the ferocious cover illustration may come to a screeching halt when they catch sight of the densely packed text inside. In some cases, this text is almost impossible to read, overwhelmed by the background art. The author describes conditions on earth before, during, and after the last Ice Age, and explores the evolution of bears from the tiny squirrel-like Miacis that lived 30-40 million years ago, to the modern polar bear, American black bear, and the giant panda. In between, she tries to make the subject come alive, with mini-dramas about the ancient cave bear and early humans that may have feared, hunted, and revered them. More questions than answers here, and the organization is confusing. Fussy format makes ideas hard to follow. For example, some text appears on torn tan paper, some text appears superimposed on cave paintings, some is interrupted with odd boxes, like “Into the Dragon’s Lair,” which recounts tales of dragons that may actually be bones of the cave bear. Includes a brief glossary, index, further reading, and picture credits. This large-size potboiler is strictly marginal. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-375-81329-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2002
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
Less charming than the opener but does feature a thimbleful of moral quandary at its center.
Armed only with her magical sewing needle, foundling mouse Delphine sets out to confront the cruel rat king in this duology closer.
As vicious rat armies pillage the mouse realms in search of her and her pointy, long-hidden treasure, Delphine finds herself waging an inner war that parallels the outer one. According to dusty documents and other reputable sources, the needle’s good powers can be perverted, but she sees no other way except killing to stop evil rat King Midnight. While struggling with a grim determination to go over to the dark side that sets her at odds with her own fundamentally loving nature, Delphine threads her way along with loyal allies past various scrapes—only to come, climactically, face to face with not only her nemesis, but her own past. Moon stitches in flashbacks to fill out the details of a tragic old love triangle that reaches its fruition here and sews her tale up with a return to Château Desjardins just in time for Cinderella’s wedding and a celebratory rodentine ball in the chandelier overhead, and she leaves a fringe of epilogue hinting at further installments to come.
Less charming than the opener but does feature a thimbleful of moral quandary at its center. (secret codes) (Animal fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-368-04833-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
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