Review by New York Times Review
A little owl forays out of the nest in this charming book with only four words on most pages. But pay attention: It's a reverso poem, the kind that reads the same forward and backward. Godwin, a co-author of the Doll People novels, has the owl glimpse himself in a pond ("owl sees owl") before he, and the words, turn back. Dunlavey's ("The Dandelion's Tale") lovely art marries midnight blues and bright fall leaves, making this a rare nighttime adventure that's both restful and playful. FARAWAY FOX By Jolene Thompson. Illustrated by Justin K. Thompson. 32 pp. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 3 to 7) What starts as a sad tale of a young fox wandering a newly built neighborhood, separated from his family by a highway, becomes an uplifting story of humans helping wildlife adapt to shrinking habitats. Turns out the "strange creatures" are digging a tunnel under the road to a wildlife preserve. There the fox and his kin joyfully reunite. The art is warm and modern, and an author's note explains efforts to build more such crossings in this country, welcome news for kids disturbed by roadkill. POND Written and illustrated by Jim LaMarche. 40 pp. Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) When Matt sees a spring bubbling out in a place called "the Pit," he tells his sister, Katie, and a friend, Pablo, "I think the Pit was once a pond!" They dam it up and haul away junk. Grown-ups help, but this is a story about kids who make something good happen. It's immensely satisfying to see them create a little paradise, with fish, wildlife, even a boat they fix. With soft acrylic and pencil art evoking an idyllic mood, LaMarche ("Albert") finds the shimmering hint of magic in the natural world. GIANT SQUID By Candace Fleming. Illustrated by Eric Rohmann. 32 pp. Neal Porter/Roaring Brook. $18.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) We have fewer photos of giant squid - creatures that swim deep in our oceans - than of the surface of Mars, and this clever book renders their mysteries thrilling and creepy. How fast are they? Where are their babies born? The Caldecott medalist Rohmann's art reveals only bits of its subject until a stunning gatefold gives a fuller, if still tantalizingly incomplete, view. Fleming makes the beast's odd anatomy truly monstrous: its "bone-hard and parrot-like" beak, its eyeballs "big as soccer balls." THE TRAGIC TALE OF THE GREAT AUK Written and illustrated by Jan Thornhill. 46 pp. Groundwood/ House of Anansi. $18.95. (Middle grade; ages 8 to 11) Extinction stinks, as any dinosaur lover knows. But it's also complicated, and in the case of the great auk, humans are not entirely to blame. There's also the creature's flightless wings and clunky feet. Thornhill gracefully melds history and science, offering both detail and wit, as well as stirring illustrations that convey both the vast scale of oceans and the delicate patterns on an auk egg. There's even a happy ending of sorts as she shows how the auk's plight gave birth to modern conservation. ONLINE An expanded visual presentation of this week's column at nytimes.com/books.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [November 13, 2016]
Review by Booklist Review
Against a deep blue background, tentacles creep from the bottom of the page, drifting through the water and winding around a passing fish. Fleming spares no detail: in clear, straightforward text, she relays how the eight limbs of the giant squid are lined with suckers ringed with saw-like teeth / that rip into skin and hold on tight. In a close-up of the squid's birdlike beak, she refers to the terrifying tongue-like ribbon of muscle inside the mouth. Rohmann's oil paintings focus on one aspect of the squid at a time. Double-page close-ups are excellently detailed, and the dark color palette adds to the eerie, deep-sea feel. Amazingly, as Fleming says in a final author's note, people have more photos of the surface of Mars than of the giant squid, and that elusive nature is captured by focusing on only specific parts of the beast at any one time (except for one dramatic foldout four-page spread). A final diagram and a list of further reading add a scientific bent to this visually stunning exploration of a mysterious creature.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Fleming and Rohmann (Bulldozer's Big Day) draw readers in to the ocean's murky depths in search of a seldom-seen creature. Tips of arms and tentacles reach up from the bottom of the first page; more reddish-white appendages appear in subsequent scenes until the cephalopod they belong to is announced on the title page. Much of the giant squid's existence is a mystery, but Fleming pieces together what is known using vivid free verse and near rhyme: "With writhing arms/ and ghostly, lidless eyes/ they glide." Focusing on each of the squid's body parts separately, the lyrical narrative evokes a nature documentary ("Here are its tentacles,/ two,/ curling and twisting and thirty feet long,/ waiting for-/ a passing fish.../ another squid.../ anything swimming by"). Rohmann's rich images place the squid against a shadowy blue-green backdrop, and the entire animal is only revealed in a penultimate double gatefold, appearing out of an expansive cloud of gray ink. The assembling of this creature from its parts to the whole, through both pictures and poetry, will captivate audiences young and old. Ages 6-10. Agent: Ethan Ellenberg, Ethan Ellenberg Agency. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4-Through engrossing, informative verse, Fleming artfully introduces readers to a mysterious sea monster that glides through the deepest and darkest reaches of the ocean. Although some species of giant squid are as large as a bus, these animals are rarely spotted by people. Scientists have been able to gather clues and assemble a body of knowledge about the unusual cephalopod from pieces washed up on shore or found by fishermen. In a similar fashion, Fleming reveals characteristics of the squid piece by piece, beginning with a description of its 30-foot-long tentacles. She shares what little is known about the squid and raises many yet-to-be answered questions: Why does the squid change colors? Where does the female lay her eggs? As the narrative reaches a conclusion, the squid jets away from a predatory barracuda and disappears into a murky cloud of ink. Rohmann's full-color paintings are eerily atmospheric. Bit by bit, each illustration focuses on a particular part of the sea creature until the entire squid is portrayed in a dramatic foldout spread. VERDICT Curious readers will be inspired by the engaging text and stunning illustrations to learn more about the giant squid. An essential purchase for science collections.-Linda L. Walkins, Saint Joseph Preparatory High School, Boston © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
A mysterious giant squid lurks in the dark corners of the ocean depths. Page-turn by page-turn, parts of the squid are revealed: first, a few tentacles sweep across the blue/black-hued ocean environment; then, a few more emerge, and then again even more, along with fish who are about to be devoured. (And this is all before the title page.) Suddenly, the squids beak is front and center, and then a huge, staring eye. Just as suddenly, the squid disappears. Flemings cadenced text and Rohmanns dramatic illustrations collaborate beautifully to build suspense and movement, as the squid and other sea creatures battle for survival. Important scientific information sneaks in effortlessly: even as readers look for the next appearance of the squid, they gain knowledge of the animals feeding, breeding, and movements as well as insights into the many questions about giant squids that are still unanswered. The artwork is marvelous; the murky blues and blacks of the ocean make it easy to appreciate how hard it has been for scientists and sailors to see the elusive squid -- and how startling it must be when that enormous ghostly, lidless eye appears. In a spectacular reveal across a four-panel foldout, billowing clouds of squid ink clear away, and we finally see the entire, magnificent animal. Turn to the final pages, and once again its gone. A diagram of the squids anatomy, a bibliography, and an explanation of the ways scientists literally piece together information about squids from body parts that wash ashore follow the main text. danielle j. ford (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
