A dramatic retelling of an episode from renowned naturalist Muir’s memoirs, set to equally dramatic, if somewhat jumbled illustrations. Having set off one morning to explore a glacier with only a hatchet, a compass, and, for companionship, an intrepid terrier named Stickeen, Muir spends an exhilarating day, enduring freezing winds and treacherous ice, leaping ever-wider crevasses, and finally having to scramble across a narrow ice bridge to get back to camp—with Stickeen matching him feat for feat. Muir later dubbed it his favorite adventure ever. Swanson matches the tale’s melodramatic language—“With every step they face danger. With every step they face death. Freezing. Hungry. Wet”— with scenes of the lightly dressed, rugged-looking explorer and his diminutive canine shadow picking their way across indistinct, oddly twisted crystalline formations that fail to illustrate the action. Still, this makes an engrossing survival tale, and provides unusual insight into Muir’s character. (afterword) (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-7613-2769-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Millbrook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
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
Trisha is ready to start at a new school, where no one will know she has dyslexia. At first, she is heartbroken to be in Miss Peterson’s special-ed class, aka, “the junkyard.” But Miss Peterson treats the children as anything but junk, showing them that everyone has a unique talent. Polacco’s trademark style is fully present here; her sensitively drawn alter ego shines with depth of feeling. When bullying occurs, Miss Peterson proves her students are worthwhile by planning a junkyard field trip, where they find valuable objects to be used in exciting ways. Trisha’s group repairs a plane, and the class buys an engine for it. Then a beloved class member dies, and the children must find a way to honor him. While the plot meanders somewhat, the characters are appealing, believable and provide a fine portrayal of a truly special class. Children will be drawn in by the story’s warmth and gentle humor and will leave with a spark of inspiration, an appreciation of individual differences and a firm anti-bullying message, all underscored by the author’s note that concludes the book. (Picture book. 7-10)
Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-399-25078-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2010
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