Morrison (Antonio's Apprenticeship, 1996) painlessly imparts an enormous amount of information, delineating step-by-step the creation of a Renaissance sculpture; attractive illustrations echoing period color, line, and composition accompany this tale of a fictional 17th-century apprentice and his master. Young Marco goes to the studio of the greatest sculptor in Rome, Luigi Borghini, with a wax figure he has made, and a request to be apprenticed. Borghini accepts him, and is alternately prickly and kind. Cutting stone is the very last of the tasks Marco learns: There are hours and days of sketching cadavers and ancient sculptures; copying drawings; molding in wax and mud and horsehair; measuring and planning. Marco visits the quarry that is the source of the fine white marble that will become the ``Neptune Fountain'' and helps to get the marble back to Borghini's studio by boat. Marco's own carving of a grotesque waterspout finds a place in the finished work, and the master reminds him of the necessities of hard work, patience, and the passing down of the art to others. A note recounts Morrison's visit to the studio of a contemporary Italian marble sculptor, and the source of the slightly didactic closing lines. A worthy companion to the previous book. (glossary) (Picture book. 6-10)
Pub Date: March 15, 1997
ISBN: 0-8234-1293-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1997
At ``Step 2'' in the useful ``Step into Reading'' series: an admirably clear, well-balanced presentation that centers on wolves' habits and pack structure. Milton also addresses their endangered status, as well as their place in fantasy, folklore, and the popular imagination. Attractive realistic watercolors on almost every page. Top-notch: concise, but remarkably extensive in its coverage. A real bargain. (Nonfiction/Easy reader. 6-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-679-91052-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
Gooney Bird Greene (with a silent E) is not your average second grader. She arrives in Mrs. Pidgeon’s class announcing: “I’m your new student and I just moved here from China. I want a desk right smack in the middle of the room, because I like to be right smack in the middle of everything.” Everything about her is unusual and mysterious—her clothes, hairstyles, even her lunches. Since the second graders have never met anyone like Gooney Bird, they want to hear more about her. Mrs. Pidgeon has been talking to the class about what makes a good story, so it stands to reason that Gooney will get her chance. She tells a series of stories that explain her name, how she came from China on a flying carpet, how she got diamond earrings at the prince’s palace, and why she was late for school (because she was directing a symphony orchestra). And her stories are “absolutely true.” Actually, they are explainable and mesh precisely with the teacher’s lesson, more important, they are a clever device that exemplify the elements of good storytelling and writing and also demonstrate how everyone can turn everyday events into stories. Savvy teachers should take note and add this to their shelf of “how a story is made” titles. Gooney Bird’s stories are printed in larger type than the narrative and the black-and-white drawings add the right touch of sauciness (only the cover is in color). A hybrid of Harriet, Blossom, and Anastasia, irrepressible Gooney Bird is that rare bird in children’s fiction: one that instantly becomes an amusing and popular favorite. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-618-23848-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Walter Lorraine/Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2002
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