There are still wild horses roaming what was the Old West thanks to a wise Congress that in 1971 passed a law to protect them. London (Froggy Goes to the Doctor, above, etc.) is grateful he has actually seen them. In a spare and gentle style, he tells the story of a newborn Mustang, his thundering herd, and Little Pinto’s brush with fate. Underlying the narrative, readers learn of the Mustangs’ habitat in the great Painted Desert, their social structure with a white-faced herd master, their different labels, and their way of life. They fear rogue stallions, fast, raging water, and most especially, man in his airplanes. More than the story, San Souci’s (Frightful’s Daughter, above, etc.) spreads of gorgeous watercolors with color pencil highlights breathe life into the Mustangs’ world in a realistic play of color and light. His attention to research and detail goes so far as to depict a dark shield on Little Pinto’s neck and chest, believed by the Indians, he says, to give the horse magical powers. Young readers should not miss the sense of community and family these “wild” horses must have to survive in their harsh but beautiful land, and in that notion they will countenance nature’s link with their own survival. One could only hope one day to see a herd of Mustangs in the wild, pounding resolutely to their own purpose, and that longing will start here for many young imaginations. (afterword, glossary) (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-7636-1554-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A validating and breathtaking next chapter of a Mother Goose favorite.
Humpty Dumpty, classically portrayed as an egg, recounts what happened after he fell off the wall in Santat’s latest.
An avid ornithophile, Humpty had loved being atop a high wall to be close to the birds, but after his fall and reassembly by the king’s men, high places—even his lofted bed—become intolerable. As he puts it, “There were some parts that couldn’t be healed with bandages and glue.” Although fear bars Humpty from many of his passions, it is the birds he misses the most, and he painstakingly builds (after several papercut-punctuated attempts) a beautiful paper plane to fly among them. But when the plane lands on the very wall Humpty has so doggedly been avoiding, he faces the choice of continuing to follow his fear or to break free of it, which he does, going from cracked egg to powerful flight in a sequence of stunning spreads. Santat applies his considerable talent for intertwining visual and textual, whimsy and gravity to his consideration of trauma and the oft-overlooked importance of self-determined recovery. While this newest addition to Santat’s successes will inevitably (and deservedly) be lauded, younger readers may not notice the de-emphasis of an equally important part of recovery: that it is not compulsory—it is OK not to be OK.
A validating and breathtaking next chapter of a Mother Goose favorite. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62672-682-6
Page Count: 45
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
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