For young tars in training, Malone offers an informative, if loosely organized, excursion into several nautical matters. Between notes on the 12-stage Beaufort Scale—developed in the early 19th century as a quick comparative gauge of wind speed—and carefully detailed paintings of a British frigate and her crew under sail in increasingly rough weather, he tucks in a fictional midshipman’s account of an Atlantic Ocean crossing, along with explanatory comments on topics from shipboard jargon to navigation in the Age of Sail. Closing with a spread of additional notes on wooden ship construction, and a capsule biography of naval hydrographer Francis Beaufort, this not only makes pleasant browsing, but could introduce such more detailed outings as Patrick O’Brien’s The Great Ships (2001), or Philemon Sturges’s Down to the Sea in Ships (2005), illus by Giles Laroche. (glossary) (Fiction/nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: May 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-399-24399-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2007
Miranda’s book counts the monsters gathering at a birthday party, while a simple rhyming text keeps the tally and surveys the action: “Seven starved monsters are licking the dishes./Eight blow out candles and make birthday wishes.” The counting proceeds to ten, then by tens to fifty, then gradually returns to one, which makes the monster’s mother, a purple pin-headed octopus, very happy. The book is surprisingly effective due to Powell’s artwork; the color has texture and density, as if it were poured onto the page, but the real attention-getter is the singularity of every monster attendee. They are highly individual and, therefore, eminently countable. As the numbers start crawling upward, it is both fun and a challenge to try to recognize monsters who have appeared in previous pages, or to attempt to stay focused when counting the swirling or bunched creatures. The story has glints of humor, and in combination with the illustrations is a grand addition to the counting shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201835-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
The Pumpkin Book (32 pp.; $16.95; Sept. 15; 0-8234-1465-5): From seed to vine and blossom to table, Gibbons traces the growth cycle of everyone’s favorite autumn symbol—the pumpkin. Meticulous drawings detail the transformation of tiny seeds to the colorful gourds that appear at roadside stands and stores in the fall. Directions for planting a pumpkin patch, carving a jack-o’-lantern, and drying the seeds give young gardeners the instructions they need to grow and enjoy their own golden globes. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 1999
ISBN: 0-8234-1465-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
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