In his seven-month life the male mole has dug four miles of runways-based on five major tunnel-routes—but he has "never been out of the soil"; he has not seen the light nor is he affected by day and night, living instead on a ten-hour cycle set by his body-needs: five hours to search for food, five to sleep. And his need for food is prodigious—a daily ounce to sustain his body-weight of only an ounce-and-a-half. Thus graphically do we meet the common eastern mole busy under the Great Plains in the generally dormant months of December and January. His heightened sense of smell and touch compensates for his feeble vision; his fur, appropriately for a mobile digger, has "no wrong way"; he is less endangered by enemies than by separation from his food supply—by the coyote's cutting off his tunnel rather than by the coyote itself. And by the bulldozer that cuts a tunnel open, exposing him for the first time to open air, strange smells, the electrifying light of the moon. Shortly he locates his hole and closes it up; the new highway built by the bulldozer will be "the frontier for generations of moles to come." Vividly informative—a remark that encompasses the potent pen drawings also.
Pub Date: Jan. 19, 1970
ISBN: 0060202580
Page Count: 48
Publisher: T.Y. Crowell
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1970
A festive invitation to creative liberation.
A pleasingly tactile exploration of the possibilities inherent in mistakes.
"A torn piece of paper... / is just the beginning!" Spills, folded paper, drips of paint, smudges and smears—they "all can make magic appear." An increasingly complex series of scenarios celebrates random accidents, encouraging artistic experimentation rather than discouragement. The folded-over paper can be a penguin's head; a torn piece of newsprint can turn into a smiling dog with a little application of paint; a hot-chocolate stain can become a bog for a frog. Thanks to a telescoping pop-up, a hole is filled with nearly limitless possibilities. The interactive elements work beautifully with the photo-collaged "mistakes," never overwhelming the intent with showiness. Saltzberg's trademark cartoon animals provide a sweetly childlike counterpoint to the artful scribbles and smears of gloppy paint.
A festive invitation to creative liberation. (Pop-up. 4-12)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7611-5728-1
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2010
A lovely encouragement to young writers to persist.
This follow-up to How To Read a Story (2005) shows a child going through the steps of creating a story, from choosing an idea through sharing with friends.
A young black child lies in a grassy field writing in a journal, working on “Step 1 / Search for an Idea— / a shiny one.” During a walk to the library, various ideas float in colorful thought bubbles, with exclamation points: “playing soccer! / dogs!” Inside the library, less-distinct ideas, expressed as shapes and pictures, with question marks, float about as the writer collects ideas to choose from. The young writer must then choose a setting, a main character, and a problem for that protagonist. Plotting, writing with detail, and revising are described in child-friendly terms and shown visually, in the form of lists and notes on faux pieces of paper. Finally, the writer sits in the same field, in a new season, sharing the story with friends. The illustrations feature the child’s writing and drawing as well as images of imagined events from the book in progress bursting off the page. The child’s main character is an adventurous mermaid who looks just like the child, complete with afro-puff pigtails, representing an affirming message about writing oneself into the world. The child’s family, depicted as black, moves in the background of the setting, which is also populated by a multiracial cast.
A lovely encouragement to young writers to persist. (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: July 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4521-5666-8
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
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