Entertaining speculation about dreams, but for a more serious treatment of the topic, look elsewhere.
The author of The Practical Witch’s Spell Book (2018) advises young readers on how to understand their dreams.
Blithely dispensing with source notes, Greenleaf opens by talking up the purposes and value of dreaming, then goes on to link common dream elements, such as turning invisible, appearing naked in public, flying, and encountering different sorts of animals, to arbitrary personality traits or unfinished business in the waking world. She addresses her “Dear Reader” in astrological-style generalities, and her brand of symbology is anything but subtle—seeing vampires, for instance, is “often interpreted as a sign that there is something in your life that is draining you,” having surgery hints at irritants that “need to be cut out,” and being decapitated is “often a sign that there is a disconnect between your head and your heart.” Those who feel their dreams to be insufficiently vivid will find fresh imagery, from losing teeth or going blind to feeling shards of glass in the mouth, and for wakeful DIY sorts, Greenleaf also provides basic instructions for projects like making a soothing bath soak. Occasional multiple-choice quizzes, including one with recommendations for healing crystals, lead to a closing quiz designed to test newly acquired interpretive skills. Following an opening view of a multihued group of sleeping children curled up together against a starry backdrop, Le strews equally diverse figures through brightly colored dreamscapes and abstract vignettes.
Entertaining speculation about dreams, but for a more serious treatment of the topic, look elsewhere. (index) (Self-help. 10-13)Pub Date: Dec. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-7624-7926-9
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
An introduction to ancient Egypt and the Pharaohs buried in the Valley of the Kings. The authors begin with how archaeologist Howard Carter found the tomb of King Tut, then move back 3,000 years to the time of Thutmosis I, who built the first tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Finally they describe the building of the tomb of a later Pharaoh, Ramses II. The backward-forward narration is not always easy to follow, and the authors attribute emotions to the Pharaohs without citation. For example, “Thutmosis III was furious [with Hatshepsut]. He was especially annoyed that she planned to be buried in KV 20, the tomb of her father.” Since both these people lived 3,500 years ago, speculation on who was furious or annoyed should be used with extreme caution. And the tangled intrigue of Egyptian royalty is not easily sorted out in so brief a work. Throughout, though, there are spectacular photographs of ancient Egyptian artifacts, monuments, tomb paintings, jewels, and death masks that will appeal to young viewers. The photographs of the exposed mummies of Ramses II, King Tut, and Seti I are compelling. More useful for the hauntingly beautiful photos than the text. (brief bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7922-7223-4
Page Count: 64
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Barnard’s brave effort to cram such an immense subject into 40 pages leads to some debatable claims. He opens with a sweeping history of Muslim expansion (“Early Muslims knew they had a lot of catching up to do to equal or surpass the great civilizations that preceded and surrounded them”) and continues generalizing throughout (“Until the twentieth century, most buildings in most cities owed much of their look to Islam”). Single-topic spreads cover the development of Arabic calligraphy and the mass production of paper, revolutions in mathematics and medicine, artistic and architectural motifs, astronomy and navigation, plus the importation of new foodstuffs, ideas (e.g., marching bands, hospitals) and technology to the West. The array of street scenes, portraits, maps, still-lifes and diagrams add visual appeal but sometimes fall into irrelevancy. Labored stylistic tics stale (the Caliph’s pigeon post was “the email of the day,” the astrolabe was “the GPS device of its day,” the translation of Classical texts was “the Human Genome Project of its day”). The author winds down with a discussion of how the dismissive attitude of Renaissance “Petrarchists” led to a general loss of appreciation for Muslim culture and scholarship, then finishes abruptly with a page of adult-level “Further Reading.” Enthusiastic, yes; judicious and well-organized, not so much. (Nonfiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: April 5, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-375-84072-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
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