Not even Lies’s (Hamlet and the Magnificent Sandcastle, not reviewed, etc.) realistically drawn figures—children, Pilgrims, and a recurring, mischievous raccoon—manage to add much substance to this jokey once-over. After explaining why popcorn pops, Landau, author of dozens of poorly researched nonfiction titles, sweeps past its history in the Americas—“Researchers have found 1000-year-old grains of popcorn. That’s older than anyone you know—including your teacher.” Ha ha. She casts doubt on the claim that it was served at the first Thanksgiving, then traces its modern career from curbside attraction to movie-house staple to household snack. After putting a positive spin on popcorn’s nutritional value without caveats about adding oil, butter, or salt, she closes with a tally of suggested toppings (“Ranch or Italian salad dressing mix”—um, maybe not), a recipe for popcorn balls (but not popcorn soup, which gets only a quick, tantalizing mention earlier on), and skimpy lists of books and Web sites. Padded with weak wisecracks, superficial generalizations, and outright filler, this isn’t about to displace Tomie DePaola’s classic Popcorn Book (1978) as an introduction to one of the world’s most popular recreational foods. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2003
ISBN: 1-57091-442-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2002
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda.
Hank Zipzer, poster boy for dyslexic middle graders everywhere, stars in a new prequel series highlighting second-grade trials and triumphs.
Hank’s hopes of playing Aqua Fly, a comic-book character, in the upcoming class play founder when, despite plenty of coaching and preparation, he freezes up during tryouts. He is not particularly comforted when his sympathetic teacher adds a nonspeaking role as a bookmark to the play just for him. Following the pattern laid down in his previous appearances as an older child, he gets plenty of help and support from understanding friends (including Ashley Wong, a new apartment-house neighbor). He even manages to turn lemons into lemonade with a quick bit of improv when Nick “the Tick” McKelty, the sneering classmate who took his preferred role, blanks on his lines during the performance. As the aforementioned bully not only chokes in the clutch and gets a demeaning nickname, but is fat, boastful and eats like a pig, the authors’ sensitivity is rather one-sided. Still, Hank has a winning way of bouncing back from adversity, and like the frequent black-and-white line-and-wash drawings, the typeface is designed with easy legibility in mind.
An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-448-48239-2
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
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