Folding Abenaki words and expressions into her narrative, Bruchac (scholar, storyteller and sister of the prolific Joseph) retells a child’s experience of the 1759 raid by Rogers’ Rangers on the Abenaki community of St. Francis. Weary from having helped prepare for a wedding feast, young Malian is snatched from her bed and hustled to safety by her beloved father, Simôn Obomsawin. That is the last that she ever sees of him. Hiding with others, she watches her village burn and then learns that her cousin, Maliazonis, had received a warning from a scout that the raid was impending. Malian describes how, after a hard winter, the survivors went on with their lives, and in later years she passed her memories on to the next generation. This view of the attack, which includes details never or inaccurately reported by Rogers and other contemporaries, remained in the oral tradition until 1959; with able assistance from Maughan’s carefully detailed, nonviolent scenes, it receives a strong, evocative rendition for young readers here. (bibliography, afterword) (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: July 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-916718-26-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Vermont Folklife Center
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2006
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
Every year since kindergarten, Harry’s Halloween costume has gotten scarier and scarier. What’s it going to be this year? He’s not telling. His classmates are all stunned when he shows up, not as some monster or a weird alien (well, not really)—but as neatly dressed Sgt. Joe Friday of Dragnet fame, wielding a notebook and out to get “just the facts, ma’am.” As she has in Harry’s 11 previous appearances (15, counting the ones his classmate Song Lee headlines), Kline (Marvin and the Mean Words, 1997, etc.) captures grammar-school atmosphere, personalities, and incidents perfectly, from snits to science projects gone hilariously wrong. She even hands Harry/Friday a chance to exercise his sleuthing abilities, with a supply of baby powder “fairy dust” gone mysteriously missing. As legions of fans have learned to expect, Harry comes through with flying colors, pinning down the remorseful culprit in 11 minutes flat. No surprises here, just reliable, child-friendly, middle-grade fare. Illustrations not seen. (Fiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-670-88864-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2000
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