Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 26, 1995 TAG: 9502250001
SECTION: BOOK PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
By Nick Bantock. Chronicle Books. $16.95.
Lovers of ``Griffin and Sabine'' and ``Sheldon'' will without a doubt rejoice in Nick Bantock's newest endeavor. Subtitled ``23 Reasonless Rhymes'' and packaged with a tape of the author's reading them. This slight work, like Bantock's others, includes illustrations in his inimitable and eerie style. Obviously this guy has talent; the poems, reminiscent of Edward Lear's, are witty, often turning adages upside down. He also paints with confidence and performs like a stand-up comic.
Why then do I feel disappointed? Can it be because I like to read and wish he had written more and skipped all the glossy presentation? Evidently a merchandising effort rather than a literary one, "Averse or Beasts," evern read aloud, requires only about 20-30 minutes to finish. Somehow it reminds me of the Philosophy-Made-Easy type of nonbook so much in demand, a kind of instant intellectual fix for the person in a hurry.
The cliche "without rhyme or reason" just popped into my mind. Well, "Averse to Beasts" contains rhymes, very amusing ones, but "reasonless" they are not. Mr. Bantock will make a great deal of money from them. I sincerely hope he will use it to create something worthy of his gift.
- Lynn Eckman
A Tail of Two Murders. Dog Collar Crime. Diamond Mystery. $3.99 each (paper). Skull and Dog Bones. Jove $4.50 (paper). Hounded to Death. First Pedigree Murder. Berkeley. $4.50 (paper).
All by Melissa Cleary.
For dog lovers who think cats get to solve all of the crimes, Melissa Cleary has a mystery series just for you. Called ``Dog Lovers Mysteries,'' these lightweight detective stories star Jackie Walsh, a young newly divorced mother, and her son Peter. Cleary's books are charming mysteries that build on each other to bring the characters and locale to life. Each book further develops Jackie's relationships with her son, her dog and her co-workers at the small university where she teaches film history.
In the first volume, ``A Tail of Two Murders,'' (1992) Jackie and Peter are adopted by Jake, a former police dog with a checkered past. Joined by attractive police detective Michael McGowen, they become involved in the first of many murders. Here, two very different men are killed. One is an alcoholic, dead in an alley; the second is a lecherous film professor. Jackie discovers one of the bodies. The other turns out to be Jake's former owner. But the mystery is continued through the next novel.
In ``Dog Collar Crime'' (1993) Jackie and Jake investigate the murder of a dog trainer in which the only witnesses are two basset hounds. Mel Sweeten was no sweetheart; he had many enemies within the rather vicious world of the dog-show ring and the irony of his being strangled with a choke collar doesn't escape Jackie's notice.
``Hounded to Death'' continues the saga as Jackie's friend Marcella, a news reporter, is working on a story about a local politico until her notes are stolen. When the man's mistress is found strangled, Jackie and Jake are on the case. And Jackie is beginning to want her relationship with McGowan to become something more.
``Skull and Dog Bones'' (1994) has a Hollywood background and utilizes Jackie's work as an instructor in film history to set up the investigation. There is continuing conflict within the college communications department; more revelations about the dog, Jake; and a burgeoning romance with McGowan.
The latest in the series is also the weakest. ``First Pedigree Murder'' stretches credibility and overlooks some of the cardinal rules of mystery writing. This time a murder takes place during a live radio broadcast and as usual, Jackie and Jake solve the case.
If Cleary's next entry, the soon-to-be-released ``Dead and Buried,'' is no better, it is safe to say these mysteries are going to the dogs.
- ANNA WENTWORTH
Wildlife Rescue: The Work of Dr. Kathleen Ramsey.
By Jennifer Ownings Downey. Photographs by Don MacCarter. Boyds Mill Press. $16.95.
If you are a student in grades three to seven and have a burning desire to be a veterinarian, this might be the book for you. In four chapters, it tells what happens to animals and birds, in particular, that are injured. With her assistants, Dr. Kathleen Ramsey treats, cares for and rehabilitates such animals as beaver, raccoons, eagles, deer, bear cubs, skunks and birds. The treatments take place at the Wildlife Center in Espanola, New Mexico. They are specific and graphic in injury and treatment.
The photographs are sometimes perfect, with great detail and color. Others are vague with captions on the opposite side of the pace. The writing is concise and explicit. There is no index or glossary. If I were a 9-13 year-old reading this book, I might need some word explanations, but if I were planning to be a vet, I'd look them up and I'd read ``Wildlife Rescue'' like a Bible.
- MARY SKUTT
Lynn Eckman recently retired from Roanoke College.
Anna Wentworth also reviews books and plays for WVTF-FM.
Mary Skutt is a retired teacher, grandmother and writer for children living in Lexington.
by CNB