An intriguing tale that will plant seeds of environmental consciousness in the upcoming generation.
A California family travels to British Columbia, where, along with a mostly French-speaking crew, they plant 1 million trees to revitalize a logged-over forest.
When author/illustrator Balouch was 10 years old, her family traveled to Canada to join a tree-planting operation. Forty years later, she recalls the remarkable experience. Readers follow young Kristen, her sisters, and their parents as they journey by seaplane to Vancouver Island, drive through backcountry, settle in to their campsite, and truck to the planting site each day for 40 days before flying home. Loving memories of the desserts Baluch helped her mother prepare for the large posse, a trusty old truck nicknamed Mad Dog, and downtime spent swimming with her siblings add a nostalgic touch. The simply written, straightforward text is rich with interesting information, offering nature-based math puzzles, a step-by-step tree-planting diagram, and French minilessons seamlessly woven into the narrative. Short asides featuring inside stories and snippets of intimate conversation between the young narrator and her family members appear in smaller print alongside the main text. The digital illustrations—rendered in a naïve art style—are busy, making for detailed spreads that beg to be pored over; they also capture the British Columbia landscape, including its distinctive flora and fauna. The tree-planting gang is surprisingly diverse for the time period, and a Native American tepee is shown amongst the campground tents. An author’s note provides further background about the project and explains the importance of old-growth forests.
An intriguing tale that will plant seeds of environmental consciousness in the upcoming generation. (Informational picture book/memoir. 7-10)Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4860-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This carefully thought-out explanation may surprise but should be widely appreciated.
Moving up in target audience from their explanation of reproduction, What Makes a Baby (2013), Silverberg and Smyth explore various meanings for the word “sex.”
In their own ways, Zai, Cooper, Mimi, and Omar respond to information in chapters about bodies, “Boys, Girls, All of Us,” touch, language, and “Crushes, Love, and Relationships.” With skin tones in unlikely shades (blue! purple! green!) and wildly diverse crowd scenes, chances are good that any reader can identify with someone in these pages. Refreshingly, these crowds are diverse in a way that does not appear assembled by checklist. Lively design, bright, clashing colors, cartoon-style illustrations, comic strips, and plenty of humor support the informal, inclusive approach. Each chapter ends with questions to think and talk about. The author’s respect for different approaches to the subject comes through. No actual sexual activities are described except for masturbation, in the chapter that also deals with “secret touches.” The gender chapter tells how gender is assigned but notes “there are more than two kinds of bodies.” The character Zai doesn’t identify as either boy or girl. Illustrations show body parts of kids and grown-ups (nipples, breasts, bottoms, and parts biologically specific to boys or girls) demonstrating wide variety. Puberty will be addressed in a third title.
This carefully thought-out explanation may surprise but should be widely appreciated. (glossary) (Nonfiction. 7-10)Pub Date: May 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-60980-606-4
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Triangle Square Books for Young Readers
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
An altogether trite, values-driven star vehicle—worthy of purpose but aside from occasional game action, as dull as a rain...
Fourth-grader “Derek” works his way through a batting slump, pulls an outsider into his circle of friends, and atones for being a bully in this semiautobiographical sequel co-authored by the recently retired Yankees captain.
The actual story is preceded by a good-behavior “contract” between the future star and his invariably strict-but-fair parents, a list of 10 “Life Lessons,” plus an introductory note explaining that this episode—the second in a planned 10—will be based on the theme “Think Before You Act.” It is entirely a vehicle for platitudes and behavior modeling. Notwithstanding the gibes of his friends, Derek holds out a welcoming hand to Dave, a seemingly standoffish new class- and teammate who turns out to be a lonely rich kid with absentee parents. Meanwhile, Derek’s delight at the opening of Little League season turns to determination as he goes hitless through the first three games. Then he angrily gets into the face of a kindergartener who is bullying his little sister, Sharlee, and is called into the principal’s office with his parents for a disciplinary conference. Wheeling along past billboard-sized doses of both life and baseball coaching, plus repeated reminders to “stay positive,” every plotline ultimately coasts to a salutary resolution: Dave earns general acceptance through improved play on the field; Derek shows sincere remorse for his misdeed and formally apologizes to his victim (who later befriends Sharlee); and the base hits finally start coming as Derek leads his team to the championship game.
An altogether trite, values-driven star vehicle—worthy of purpose but aside from occasional game action, as dull as a rain delay. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: April 28, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4814-2315-1
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
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