“Zig and zig and zig. Maestro Death keeps time.” A friend’s poem and a visit to the catacombs underneath Paris in 1872 inspire composer Camille Saint-Saëns to write a now-famous orchestral piece echoing the sounds of dancing, clacking skeletal bones.
Imagining dialogue and taking some liberties with the story (as she explains in the backmatter), music scholar Celenza conjures up the underground visit, a first performance of the piece as a song, its orchestration and premier performance. She emphasizes the composer’s fascination with the idea of dancing skeletons and his desire “to try to capture that sensation in music.” She uses some delicious words—ossuary, amorously, rambunctious, diabolical, ghoulish—sure to intrigue young listeners. Two pages toward the end of the narrative could serve as program notes describing the story in the music. As with other books in this series, the package includes a CD recording. The 1996 performance is by the Pittsburgh Symphony directed by Lorin Maazel. Kitchel’s pastel watercolors belie the mood of the story, although the dancing skeletons, in shades of gray, will show beautifully for Halloween read-alouds. Though the live people in these illustrations have all the animation of paper dolls, these jointed figures clearly dance.
An intriguing if fanciful introduction to a musical classic. (Picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-57091-348-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2013
Categories: CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS
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If Pluto can’t be a planet—then what is he?
Having been a regular planet for “the better part of forever,” Pluto is understandably knocked out of orbit by his sudden exclusion. With Charon and his four other moons in tow he sets off in search of a new identity. Unfortunately, that only spins him into further gloom, as he doesn’t have a tail like his friend Halley’s comet, is too big to join Ida and the other asteroids, and feels disinclined to try to crash into Earth like meteoroids Gem and Persi. Then, just as he’s about to plunge into a black hole of despair, an encounter with a whole quartet of kindred spheroids led by Eris rocks his world…and a follow-up surprise party thrown by an apologetic Saturn (“Dwarf planet has a nice RING to it”) and the other seven former colleagues literally puts him “over the moon.” Demmer gives all the heavenly bodies big eyes (some, including the feminine Saturn, with long lashes) and, on occasion, short arms along with distinctive identifying colors or markings. Dressing the troublemaking meteoroids in do-rags and sunglasses sounds an off note. Without mentioning that the reclassification is still controversial, Wade closes with a (somewhat) straighter account of Pluto’s current official status and the reasons for it.
Make space for this clever blend of science and self-realization. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68446-004-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Review Posted Online: April 25, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS
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Stink Moody, younger brother of Judy, hops into the spotlight with a common problem—and one that’s a bit more unusual.
Stink would like to advance in his swimming lessons, but he’s afraid to put his face underwater and seems doomed to remain a Polliwog forever. Fortunately, he’s distracted from that issue by the sudden appearance around town—in some surprising places—of a whole lot of real frogs, a few of which are deformed. These frogs give McDonald the opportunity to offer a little information, through the voice of a nature-center guide, on how adverse environmental conditions can influence frog development. Stink memorizes a variety of frog sounds, enabling him to participate in a frog count at a local pond. Somehow, he becomes convinced that he’s turning into a frog himself, but that might just make it possible for him to swim underwater. Brief, cheery, oversized text and lot of cartoonish black-and-white illustrations (only some of which were available for review) make this a good choice for newly independent readers. A minor issue is that the text informs readers that it is early spring; even in Virginia, that’s a little early for Stink to be taking swimming lessons in an outdoor pool, as indicated in the illustrations.
Young readers with a fondness for amphibians will jump all over this one. (Fiction. 6-8)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6140-3
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2013
Categories: CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS
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