Children's Book Reviews
Page One of ThreeThe Fairies: Photographic Evidence of the Existence of Another World by Suza Scalora
Joanna Cotler Books, November 1999Hardcover, 48 pages
Ages 9-Adult
ISBN: 0060282347.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
Commercial photographer Suza Scalora
takes on the persona of an archeologist who
sets out on a journey to finish a manuscript by a
19th century anthropologist entitled
Field Guide to Fairies. Our intrepid researcher
studied the notes of the scientist which detailed
how to attract and where to find fairies of all
kinds, then set out to capture a photographic
record of all kinds of fairies. From Twyla, the
Twilight-Blue Fairy seen in the Monteverde Cloud
Forest in Costa Rica, to the ruthless Black Swan
Fairy Vivian seen in Porto Alegre, Brazil who can
paralyze a human with a look, to the innocently
sleeping Laurel, the Purple Sleeping Fairy found
in the Hawaiian islands, Suza Scalora's beautiful,
eerie and haunting full-page photographs prove that, once
and for all, fairies are real. With each photograph, the
author gives alternate names, the sighting date and place,
the history of the fairy, lures that can be used to find the
fairy and notes of the author's fascinating encounters
with these ethereal creatures.
Scalora is a photographer of great talent. Her studio skills are formidable, as is her talent with composition, textures and color; it is obvious that the book took an immense amount of time to create, with many hours in the sets and labs. The end result is a book which could almost convince you that if you look hard enough, maybe you too will spot an ethereal fairy hovering nearby.
The Field Mouse and the Dinosaur Named Sue by Jan Wahl, Illustrated by Bob Doucet
Cartwheel Books, April 2000.Picture Book, 48 pages
Ages 4-8
ISBN: 0439099846.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
In 1990, a fossil hunter named Sue Hendrickson
found some bones in South Dakota, which later
turned out to be the largest and most complete
Tyrannosaurus rex ever found. The T. rex was named
Sue, and now resides in Chicago's Field Museum.
Now Jan Wahl takes this incident and creates a
charming tale from a totally different perspective.
A Field Mouse comes back to his home to find
people digging and that his cherished bone which
served as his roof is missing! The mouse goes in
search of his bone, and ends up in the crate that is
heading off to the museum. The Field Mouse doesn't
know what to think of his new home -- he has to hide during
the day and food is hard to find. But one day a new
exhibit is revealed -- and the Field Mouse recognizes
part of the foot of the giant T. rex as his own bone.
So he makes a cozy little nest under the
foot, then settles in for a good sleep and some happy
dreams in his new home.
Jan Wahl does an excellent job of describing the steps involved in excavating and displaying a dinosaur skeleton, with a fresh and unique point of view. The Field Mouse is a perfect foil for the giant, long-dead carnivores, and provides a cuddly narrator that children will love. Bob Doucet's illustrations are warm and accessible, rendered in muted earth tones which complement the settings of the hills of South Dakota and the interiors of the museum. Small children will no doubt want to hear the story of the little Field Mouse who met a dinosaur over and over again.
Children's Book Reviews
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