Using an ancient Egyptian creation myth from Heliopolis, and inspired by, but not bound to, Egyptian motifs, Hofmeyr and Daly offer a lovely pourquoi for the universe. In the beginning darkness, a lotus flower opened and Atum cast light into the world from its heart. Soon he blew across his hands and made Shu, the god of air, and Tefnut, the goddess of rain. These two teased and played, and their children were Geb, the god of earth, and Nut, the goddess of sky. Atum grew angry at Geb and Nut's closeness, and finally Shu had to keep them apart. Geb's struggle made hills and volcanoes and Tefnut's tears the plants; Nut was lifted high in an arch over Geb and Atum sprinkled her with stars so Geb could see her in the darkness. The children of Nut became the gods Osiris and others, and Atum retired to the sun, guided by Nut each day. The illustrations use line with great elegance, as Geb's body metamorphoses into hills and hillocks. Nut the sky turns from milky moonstone to deep lapis, and myriad blues and sweet greens set off the figures, for whom Egyptian conventions of hair, adornment, and skin tones are used. The language is complex enough so that this is best used as a read-aloud, and may go nicely with Tamara Bower's The Shipwrecked Sailor, another Egyptian story that speaks across millennia. (Picture book. 7-10)
Pub Date: March 22, 2000
ISBN: 0-374-37481-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
Dizzyingly silly.
The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale.
After a tsunami devastates their habitat in the Salish Sea, a young orca and her brother embark on a remarkable adventure.
Vega’s matriarchal family expects her to become a hunter and wayfinder, with her younger brother, Deneb, protecting and supporting her. Invited to guide her family to their Gathering Place to hunt salmon, Vega’s underwater miscalculations endanger them all, and an embarrassed Vega questions whether she should be a wayfinder. When the baby sister she hoped would become her life companion is stillborn, a distraught Vega carries the baby away to a special resting place, shocking her grieving family. Dispatched to find his missing sister, Deneb locates Vega in the midst of a terrible tsunami. To escape the waters polluted by shattered boats, Vega leads Deneb into unfamiliar open sea. Alone and hungry, the young siblings encounter a spectacular giant whale and travel briefly with shark-hunting orcas. Trusting her instincts and gaining emotional strength from contemplating the vastness of the sky, Vega knows she must lead her brother home and help save her surviving family. In alternating first-person voices, Vega and Deneb tell their harrowing story, engaging young readers while educating them about the marine ecosystem. Realistic black-and-white illustrations enhance the maritime setting.
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale. (maps, wildlife facts, tribes of the Salish Sea watershed, environmental and geographical information, how to help orcas, author’s note, artist’s note, resources) (Animal fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-299592-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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