The elusive American crocodile is the subject of this engaging work of picture book natural history from author/illustrator Jim Arnosky, who together The elusive American crocodile is the subject of this engaging work of picture book natural history from author/illustrator Jim Arnosky, who together with his wife Deanna embarked on a safari through the Florida Everglades to learn more about these magnificent reptiles. Once greatly endangered in all of their habitats, these creatures have made a comeback in Florida (though alas, not in other locales), and now number more than 2,000. Arnosky's book describes some basics of their biology—how they differ from alligators, for instance—and then profiles a number of different crocodiles he saw, during the course of his time in the Everglades. The book closes with the music to Arnosky's song, Counting Crocodiles, and a list of further reading...
I am ashamed to say that I was wholly unaware that any crocodiles were to be found in the United States, thinking that our only native crocodilian species was the alligator. However that glaring error in my understanding came to be—it is one that Arnosky himself seems to have shared, as he mentions in his introduction that he "discovered" the existence of American crocodiles while researching a book on alligators—I am certainly glad to have it corrected by Crocodile Safari! Any young child similarly afflicted would benefit from this engaging and educational title as well. The text imparts information, but also draws the reader/listener into the hunt for the crocodiles, sharing safety tips along the way. The accompanying illustrations, done in acrylic paint, are lovely, capturing the vibrant beauty (and also terror!) of the subject matter. Recommended to young animal lovers, and to anyone particularly fascinated by our crocodilian friends!...more
Young Django lived with his parents and Grandma Thelma in the cypress swamps of Florida, where he grew up surrounded by a symphony of different soundsYoung Django lived with his parents and Grandma Thelma in the cypress swamps of Florida, where he grew up surrounded by a symphony of different sounds. Given his grandfather's fiddle, he made music that spoke to the animals, and brought them to his side. When his inattention to his chores led his parents and grandmother to put the fiddle away, it seemed his music was at an end. Then a terrible hurricane struck, and Django used his music to guide the local animals to safety around their home, located on a local hill...
Django is the third picture book I have read from author John Cech, a professor of English and Children's Literature at the University of Florida in Gainesville, following upon his Aesop's Fables and The Twelve Dancing Princesses. It also the one I have enjoyed most, both because of his story, and because of the accompanying folk-art illustrations of Florida artist Sharon McGinley-Nally. Apparently the tale presented here is a loose adaptation of a Florida legend concerning the folk musician and fiddler, Cush Holston**, who was said to play with such beauty that the animals would gather round him. As someone who is intrigued by the idea of using music to communicate with animals—I have enjoyed numerous online videos featuring the reaction of various animals when music is played to them—I was charmed by the idea of Django's fiddle-playing leading the wildlife to safety. I also was quite impressed by McGinley-Nally's artwork, created in vivid hues using liquid watercolors on paper first treated with a mixture of malt, chicory, rye, figs and beet root. The results is a series of paintings that are both interesting and beautiful. I loved the use of color, the human and animal figures, the decorative borders around many of the scenes, and the fact that the pages themselves are a lovely sepia tone. Although I enjoyed the previous books I have read from Cech, I wasn't deeply impressed by them, as I was by this one. I will definitely be seeking out more of his work (as well as other works of Florida folklore), and will certainly try to track more of McGinley-Nally's work as well. Recommended to young folklore enthusiasts, as well as to children taking up a musical instrument.
**Cush Holston doesn't appear to have every recorded any albums, but he did perform at the Florida Folk Festival in the early years, and there are some recordings of his performances there, that readers interested in his music can listen to, both on Youtube and on the Slippery Hill website, devoted to old-time fiddle and banjo recordings....more
Struggling to cope with the grief and loss attendant on her father's decision to abandon his wife and daughter and run off with another woman, young RStruggling to cope with the grief and loss attendant on her father's decision to abandon his wife and daughter and run off with another woman, young Raymie Clarke has a plan. She will win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire 1975 competition, get her name in the papers, and remind her father of her existence, thereby (hopefully) bringing him home. In the process of pursuing this unlikely goal, Raymie becomes friends with two other girls - the truculent but secretly tenderhearted Beverly Tapinski, who longs to escape their small town and live with her policeman father in New York, and who is planning to sabotage the competition; and the loving and too-good-for-this-world Louisiana Elefante, a starving orphan living with her grandmother, perpetually on the run from child welfare, who wants to win the competition in order to save her beloved cat Archie from the animal shelter to which they were forced to surrender him, when no longer able to feed him. As the three girls become better acquainted, they find solace for their various troubles with one another, and strength to try and do something about them.
Having recently begun an exploration of the work of Kate DiCamillo, two-time winner of the Newbery Medal, for The Tale of Despereaux and Flora & Ulysses, I was excited to get to Raymie Nightingale, her latest work, published earlier this year (2016). As with some of her other realistic titles for children - Because of Winn-Dixie, The Tiger Rising - DiCamillo explores the reality of absent parents here, as all three of her characters are missing one or both parents, either through death or abandonment. I thought her depiction of Raymie's internal emotional struggles - her expanding and contracting soul, her occasional feeling of epiphany, of love for the world and those around her - was sensitively done, often immensely poignant. The conclusion is hopeful, leaving the reader with the sense that, although none of the challenges the three friends confront have changed or disappeared, they will manage to get through them somehow, drawing strength from their friendship. Recommended to anyone who has enjoyed DiCamillo's previous works, or is looking for quality middle-grade fiction....more
Like her earlier work, Because of Winn-Dixie, which was awarded a Newbery Honor in 2001, this slim children's novel is set in Florida, and followsLike her earlier work, Because of Winn-Dixie, which was awarded a Newbery Honor in 2001, this slim children's novel is set in Florida, and follows the story of a young person coping with an absent mother and a distant father. In The Tiger Rising, Rob Horton, still reeling from the death of his mother, and recently moved to a new town, is confronted with bullying at his new school. His father, also deeply bereaved, has made it very clear that Rob is not to express his grief, not to cry. Then two extraordinary things happen: Rob comes across a caged tiger in the woods near the hotel where he is living, and he meets a feisty new girl, Sistine (named for the chapel), who doesn't believe in reserve. Will Rob free the tiger, as Sistine insists they must... and if he does, what will happen?
A moving book, one which chronicles one boy's journey from silent grief through cathartic rage, and then his entry into gradual healing, The Tiger Rising reminded me (as already noted) of Because of Winn-Dixie. In that other work, the adoption of a stray dog leads to an opening of the relationship between a child and her father. Here, the finding and eventual (view spoiler)[killing (hide spoiler)] of a tiger leads to a moment of dramatic confrontation, in which Rob finally expresses himself to his father, opening the floodgates of both of their griefs. Although a brief book, I liked the characterization here. I like that Rob's father is depicted as deeply flawed - he hits Rob (only once that the narrative reveals), and doesn't really know how to take care of him - but also deeply loving. I also liked the character of Willie May, whose humor and humanity come across very well. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories about grief, family, and friendship....more
India Opal Buloni, newly moved to the town of Naomi, Florida with her preacher father, is lonely and looking for something to occupy her summer when sIndia Opal Buloni, newly moved to the town of Naomi, Florida with her preacher father, is lonely and looking for something to occupy her summer when she walks into the local Winn Dixie (a supermarket chain common in the South) and discovers the chaos wrought by one unkempt but lovable stray dog. Determined to save this canine from the pound, she claims that the dog is hers, promptly naming him Winn Dixie, and bringing him home to her father. Winn Dixie soon involves Opal, as she is more commonly known, in many adventures, leading to her newfound friendships with many of the people in town, from Miss Franny Block, the elderly librarian at the Herman W. Block Memorial Library, to shy Otis, the ex-con musician working at Gertrude's Pets. Winn Dixie also brings Opal closer to 'the Preacher,' as she calls her father, leading him to open up a bit about her mother, who left them when Opal was still a little girl...
The second novel I have read from Kate DiCamillo, after the marvelous The Tale of Despereaux, Because of Winn Wixie is an immensely engaging, entertaining, and moving book. Winn Dixie himself is a wonderfully realized character - I loved the descriptions of his smile! - but then so is Opal, her father, and her new friends. The people in this story feel real, and although it is a fairly slim book, it leaves behind quite an impression. I thought DiCamillo did an excellent job exploring some of the pitfalls of meeting new people - making snap judgements, as Opal does with Amanda Wilkinson, unaware that she too is struggling with her own sorrow - while also highlighting the many joys of building a sense of community. Recommended to anyone looking for moving stories of children and their dogs, or to anyone interested in tales of moving to new homes and communities....more
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