ALA Booklist (Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 1997)

The author of Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is? (1993) and What's Smaller than a Pygmy Shrew? (1995) takes on the notion of speed and doesn't stop until he has expanded children's minds. Beginning with a race between a cheetah and an ostrich, the book goes on to compare the cheetah's top running speed with the flight of a falcon, which is not as fast as a propeller plane, which is not as fast as the speed of sound, which is not as fast as a jet plane, which is not as fast as a rocket ship, which is not as fast as a meteoroid, which is not as fast as the speed of light! Then he brings it all back down to earth with one question: Who ever would have thought that the fastest traveling thing in the whole universe could come out of something small enough to hold in your hand? Always in sync with the way children think, Wells takes each concept and makes it concrete, vivid, and understandable as he takes it to its logical conclusion. Even better, the illustrations make it all fun, taking the characters on an improbable journey through space at ever-accelerating speeds. A trip children won't want to miss. (Reviewed October 1, 1997)

Horn Book (Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2001)

This simplified account of Pocahontas's life and of fifteenth-century European and Native American relations strives for cultural sensitivity in the text and in the brightly colored illustrations, but many details are presented without any interpretation. Small text boxes and a final page add facts to a book that's a good reader but simplistic history. Ind.

Kirkus Reviews

Fast, faster, fastest! Kids infatuated with speed will love this book of comparisons of things that move like greased lightning. The book starts out by comparing a fast human pace with that of an ostrich (45 mph) and a cheetah (70 mph), and accelerates from there. The animal kingdom is quickly outraced by machines, machines are in turn put to shame by meteorites, and a beam of light proves the ultimate speedster. A chart compares how long each creature or object would take to get to the moon—a good exercise in understanding comparisons, as well as chart- reading. The illustrations are active and bright, occasionally switching from horizontal layouts to vertical ones. Turning the book on its side slows things down a bit, but readers will find that this book on speed has a momentum all its own. (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-10)"

School Library Journal

Gr 1-3-In this story set in New York City, Carla and her mother are placed in an apartment after a one-year wait. The child's only possession, saved from a fire that destroyed their belongings, is a book, A Pilgrim Thanksgiving. Carla imagines herself as a Pilgrim girl and identifies her new home as a new land. When she mentions having a Thanksgiving feast, her mother's response is, "Fat chance." Undaunted, the youngster organizes a potluck dinner in the apartment-house lobby where strangers become friends and neighbors. The presentation is somewhat didactic and the ending is not surprising. However, the message is clear. The story and acrylic-and-gouache illustrations showing the Pilgrim feast juxtaposed with the modern urban apartment will be helpful in bringing the two worlds together. The illustrations are clear and colorful and large enough for a read-aloud. At the same time, the text is simple enough for beginning readers and the format will appeal to reluctant readers. This title is likely to have seasonal demand.-Marlene Gawron, Orange County Library, Orlando, FL Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.