by Karen Wallace & illustrated by Barbara Firth ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1994
A dull account of a year in the lives of two bear cubs and their mother. In Wallace's (Red Fox, p. 1140) latest addition to the Read and Wonder series, tepid illustrations accompany a wan description of the three bears' year in the forest. We follow the bear mother and her cubs as they eat and grow, hibernate and fish. Unfortunately, we rarely learn anything truly interesting. (At least, not after the author's note at the beginning, which informs us that black bears come in a variety of colors.) Beneath the pictures, small, confusing captions distract the reader's attention from what is already a lifeless text. These factoids might have been more productively incorporated into the text itself rather than free-floating on the bottom of the page. Better than the rest of the book are the sketches by Firth inside the covers, where the bears are seen minus their candy-coloring and without Wallace's bland commentary. A good idea executed with neither flair nor feeling. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 3+)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1994
ISBN: 1-56402-336-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1994
Share your opinion of this book
More by Karen Wallace
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
by Karen Wallace & illustrated by Mike Bostock
by Andrea Beaty ; illustrated by David Roberts ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2019
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book.
Ada Twist’s incessant stream of questions leads to answers that help solve a neighborhood crisis.
Ada conducts experiments at home to answer questions such as, why does Mom’s coffee smell stronger than Dad’s coffee? Each answer leads to another question, another hypothesis, and another experiment, which is how she goes from collecting data on backyard birds for a citizen-science project to helping Rosie Revere figure out how to get her uncle Ned down from the sky, where his helium-filled “perilous pants” are keeping him afloat. The Questioneers—Rosie the engineer, Iggy Peck the architect, and Ada the scientist—work together, asking questions like scientists. Armed with knowledge (of molecules and air pressure, force and temperature) but more importantly, with curiosity, Ada works out a solution. Ada is a recognizable, three-dimensional girl in this delightfully silly chapter book: tirelessly curious and determined yet easily excited and still learning to express herself. If science concepts aren’t completely clear in this romp, relationships and emotions certainly are. In playful full- and half-page illustrations that break up the text, Ada is black with Afro-textured hair; Rosie and Iggy are white. A closing section on citizen science may inspire readers to get involved in science too; on the other hand, the “Ode to a Gas!” may just puzzle them. Other backmatter topics include the importance of bird study and the threat palm-oil use poses to rainforests.
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3422-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
by Andrea Beaty ; illustrated by David Roberts
by Andrea Beaty ; illustrated by David Roberts
by Andrea Beaty ; illustrated by David Roberts
More by Andrea Beaty
BOOK REVIEW
by Andrea Beaty ; illustrated by David Roberts
BOOK REVIEW
by Andrea Beaty ; illustrated by David Roberts
BOOK REVIEW
by Andrea Beaty ; illustrated by Dow Phumiruk
by Mae Respicio ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 12, 2018
This delightful debut welcomes readers in like a house filled with love.
A 13-year-old biracial girl longs to build the house of her dreams.
For Lou Bulosan-Nelson, normal is her “gigantic extended family squished into Lola’s for every holiday imaginable.” She shares a bedroom with her Filipina mother, Minda—a former interior-design major and current nurse-to-be—in Lola Celina’s San Francisco home. From her deceased white father, Michael, Lou inherited “not-so-Filipino features,” his love for architecture, and some land. Lou’s quietude implies her keen eye for details, but her passion for creating with her hands resonates loudly. Pining for something to claim as her own, she plans to construct a house from the ground up. When her mom considers moving out of state for a potential job and Lou’s land is at risk of being auctioned off, Lou stays resilient, gathering support from both friends and family to make her dream a reality. Respicio authentically depicts the richness of Philippine culture, incorporating Filipino language, insights into Lou’s family history, and well-crafted descriptions of customs, such as the birdlike Tinikling dance and eating kamayan style (with one’s hands), throughout. Lou’s story gives voice to Filipino youth, addressing cultural differences, the importance of bayanihan (community), and the true meaning of home.
This delightful debut welcomes readers in like a house filled with love. (Fiction. 8-13)Pub Date: June 12, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5247-1794-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Wendy Lamb/Random
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
Share your opinion of this book
More by Mae Respicio
BOOK REVIEW
by Mae Respicio
BOOK REVIEW
by Mae Respicio
BOOK REVIEW
by Mae Respicio
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.