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Lewin, Betsy
13 Reviews
(4)
K-3
I Like to Read series.
A knight has a dream to find golden cookies, and he goes on an overnight adventure with his horse. The use of repetitive phrases and homophones are geared toward new readers; plot is clearly secondary to the reading goals. The watercolor illustrations use a limited palette and a light touch.
Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth
Lewin, Ted
& Lewin, Betsy
How to Babysit a Leopard: And Other True Stories from Our Travels Across Six Continents
(3)
4-6
Sharing small snippets from over forty years of their travels, the Lewins give readers glimpses of lion attacks, peculiarities of various outhouses, bargaining in a Moroccan bazaar, a roll call of the highly poisonous animals in Australia, and scary encounters with combatants in Africa. Armchair travelers will enjoy browsing through this compilation, generously illustrated with personal photographs and the Lewins' own sketches. Ind.
Reviewer: Betty Carter
(4)
K-3
I Like to Read series.
An alligator pep-talks her friend as he prepares for a swimming race and contends with a confidence-crushing bully. Employing dialogue balloons, Lewin presents the male alligator's vacillating emotions and the female alligator's reassurances. Too bad the female alligator is nothing but a cheerleader (couldn't she have entered the race, too?). The jumpy art matches the text's vigor.
Reviewer: Nell Beram
(3)
PS
"Here comes Thumpy Feet! Thumpy thumpy thumpy thump thumpy / MMMMMMmmmmmm Foodie food!" Amusing, offbeat language playfully describes the activities of a wacky orange cat as he eats, washes, plays, and sleeps. Whether they show him sprawling across a double-spread or chasing a ball of string off the page, the unfussy watercolor illustrations capture the essence of feline movement and behavior.
Reviewer: Martha Sibert
(2)
K-3
Fledgling puffins journeying from their nests to the sea are confused by nighttime lights from towns. In Iceland, on the island of Heimaey, children take part in a generations-old puffin search-and-rescue tradition. As they tour the island with researchers, then join a night patrol, the Lewins capture the beauty of the landscape and the awkwardly amusing appeal of the birds.
Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2012
(4)
PS
In singsongy rhyme, Lewin describes the escapades of kitty-cat Tippy Toes. Though during the daytime, "Everyone knows where Tippy Toes goes," it's a different story after dark ("Nobody knows where Tippy Toes goes... / when the moon is full and the night wind blows"). Well-camouflaged die-cuts in the friendly watercolor illustrations effectively reinforce the story line.
Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz
(2)
K-3
In Mysore in southern India, elephants are featured in the annual Dasara festival procession. The Lewins describe Balarama's triumphant first appearance as procession leader. Pageantry and noble beasts alike are vividly realized in Ted Lewin's signature watercolors, while Betsy Lewin's agile drawings add deft characterizations, lively action, and humor. It's a gorgeous glimpse at a continuing custom. "Elephant Facts" are appended. Glos.
Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2010
(2)
K-3
This book focuses on a horse race during the Naadam festival in Mongolia, in which boys gallop their stallions fourteen miles across the Gobi Desert. The text, accompanied by some nimbly sketched spot art, offers a vivid picture of this traditional culture. Watercolor expanses feature desert vistas, horses in action, and sympathetic portraits of the Mongolian people at home and work. Glos.
Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2008
(3)
K-3
The celebrated husband and wife team is off on another adventure, this time to the wilder parts of Australia, where Ted's signature lush watercolors are paired with Betsy's quicker, sketchier paintings. The lively, sometimes funny, travel-journal text concentrates on the flora and fauna encountered by the two. Additional information on some of the animals is found at book's end.
Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt
(3)
PS
Lewin has updated this reissue with new illustrations and slightly reworked text in an airy format with plenty of white space. Four-line poems briefly describe the eating habits of twelve animals. Lewin uses humor in language and large, loose ink and watercolor paintings to give preschoolers a first, very basic natural history lesson. "Animal Facts" provide child-friendly snippets of information.
Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth
(3)
K-3
This rhyming picture book not only counts from one to ten --"I have one cat. / A fat cat, / A fun cat. / I have one cat. / My brother has two. / Two cats, / True cats" and so on--but also pauses a few times to add up the total number of cats. The line drawings, originally done in black and white, have been updated with color, and otherwise contain only a few minor modifications. With a larger trim size, this new edition is livelier than the original.
Reviewer: Anne St. John
(2)
K-3
In search of African elephants in Botswana, the Lewins provide careful observations of animals in their habitats that lend insight into animal behaviors and survival tactics. Throughout, a cheerful tone combines with reverence for the beauty and variety of nature. Betsy Lewin's humorous, emotive sketches and Ted Lewin's full-page paintings illustrate their encounters.
Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2001
(2)
4-6
The walk to view mountain gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest of Uganda is rigorous, to say the least. Through handsome paintings and carefully focused text, the Lewins recount their 1997 venture into Bwindi, offering intriguing glimpses of both the rarely seen animals and the ambiguities of ecotourism. Concluding pages offer quick facts on physical characteristics and behavior. Ind.
Reviewer: Margaret A. Bush
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 1999
13 reviews
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