(4) YA In this coming-of-age story, an Inuit girl's culture is on the verge of change when a priest of the Dog Children (white men) settles in her community. Minik's first-person narration doesn't always work (she transmits complex English-language exchanges that she claims not to understand), but Dewey vividly gives a detailed account of Inuit history and beliefs.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) 4-6 Using the author's childhood encounters with Anasazi rock art on the cliffs of New Mexico as a starting point, the text expands to succinctly explain the key aspects of Anasazi culture. Drawings of rock art figures and a map of the areas where the Anasazi lived enhance this appealing introduction.

Reviewer: Jim St. Claire

(2) K-3 Photographs by Wyman Meinzer. Well-observed sketches and well-integrated color photos accompany Dewey's story of the roadrunner family that takes up residence in her New Mexico backyard. Scientific detail is skillfully woven throughout the text, and readers learn about the birds' behaviors, strategies for obtaining food, mating and nesting, and the growth and survival of their young. Ind.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2002

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jean Cassels. Pregnant with her first child, the narrator watches an orb-weaver spider spinning its web and laying eggs. Unlike most orb weavers, it lives through the winter, surviving until the spiderlings hatch. The narration uses some fairly sophisticated vocabulary, while smooth, mellow illustrations in a realistic style help convey the narrator's feeling of connection to the spider. An author's note about spiders is included.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(2) 4-6 Dewey's account is a mix of journal narratives, factual interludes, letters to friends and family, sketches of animal life and landscapes, and color photos. She carefully documents her encounters with a variety of natural phenomena and captivating animals. Her sketches of birds, especially, are effective in portraying animal behaviors. The focus is on Dewey's impressions of the land and its inhabitants when she's out on the ice. Bib.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2001

(3) 4-6 Dewey relates her encounters with wildlife families in the remote and not so remote Southwest, fictionalizing the stories (which are otherwise "true and actually happened in the environment described") by imagining what each animal is thinking. The engaging stories about owls, bears, bobcats, and other animals are illustrated with simple, realistic pencil drawings. Ind.

Reviewer: Daniel Brabander

(4) 4-6 When her parents announce they're divorcing, twelve-year-old Jamie runs away and spends the summer with friends--a Navajo family. Autobiographically based, this introspective novel offers a detailed look at the southwestern landscape and Navajo culture; this detail, however, doesn't always add up to thematic heft and indeed often slackens the narrative tension.

Reviewer: Emma Loy-Santelli

(2) 4-6 Photographs by Stephen Trimble. Dewey's lively account includes rich descriptions of the mucky stuff, interesting information, and episodes from her own childhood. She discusses mud as material for childhood games, Native American rituals, and pottery making, and as building material for animals and humans. The four chapters are accompanied by striking full-page photos and Dewey's own characteristically fine pencil drawings. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(2) 4-6 In this informative and beautiful presentation, Dewey's colored pencil drawings feature many different species of these rainforest creatures. The simple, clear text describes physical characteristics and the unusual behaviors surrounding care of eggs and nurturing the young. Explained in detail are the traditional methods still used by hunters to extract the poison from the frogs for use in blowpipe darts.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(3) 4-6 Dewey harmoniously weaves her own childhood stories (about run-ins with swarming locusts, black widow spiders, and bedbugs) into a clear, effective introduction to the basics of entomology. Topics covered include insect classification, mating, and life cycles. The bigger-than-life-size pencil drawings of all the bugs are detailed, well-labeled, and greatly extend the text. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.