Lift-the-flap factoids and a Ms. Frizzle wannabe form the gimmicks obviously designed to make this effort stand out from a crowded pack—with limited success. “Angel Finn” narrates this compendium of shark facts, beginning with a quick physical description and ending with the news that “many sharks are now endangered.” In between, readers are treated to discussions of prehistoric sharks, shark habitats, feeding habits and reproduction, in no discernible progression. The lift-the-flap elements pose questions that may or may not have occurred to readers (“Why do sharks bite metal cages?”) and reveal answers in a forced attempt to draw kids in—and they’re flimsy, to boot. Angel, a cartoony sketch with long blonde hair, appears placed against full-bleed photographs, some computer-generated (although no acknowledgement of this is made in the text). Most photographs feature gaping, toothy mouths. All in all, it’s a model of sensationalism in science books for kids, and lacking both the gravitas and the artistry of Nicola Davies’s Surprising Sharks (2003) or Jim Arnosky’s All About Sharks (2003). This offering is the very definition of “additional purchase.” (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 6-10)
Pub Date: July 18, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-7534-6064-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kingfisher
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2007
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-81175-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998
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