A riveting page-turner that will have readers eager to learn more about the topic.
A true account of an astounding disaster, chronicled as a graphic narrative that reads like an environmental thriller.
On November 20, 1980, a routine oil-drilling operation in Louisiana’s Lake Peigneur accidentally went catastrophically wrong, creating a breach that allowed lake water to rush into underground mine chambers, draining the entire lake in mere hours. Wolf narrates this incredible story through the voice of the lake itself, weaving together multiple perspectives—from miners trapped 1,300 feet underground to fishermen stranded on the suddenly exposed lakebed. Detailed diagrams, maps, and cross-sectional illustrations help readers unfamiliar with oil rig operations and underground mining truly understand the complex events unfolding. As the stakes escalate—first a stuck drill bit, then a tilting oil rig, then water rushing into the mines—the mounting tension becomes genuinely gripping. Pimienta’s artwork brilliantly supports the storytelling through strategic panel design that mirrors the characters’ emotional states. Underground scenes confine figures within increasingly numerous small panels, visually conveying the miners’ desperation, while more expansive panels capture the scale of the swirling sinkhole above. His palette enhances the drama—inviting greens of the nearby Rip Van Winkle Gardens, oppressive darkness in the salt mine tunnels, and natural earth tones as the landscape literally dissolves. Wolf’s meticulous research is apparent in the technical details and authentic dialogue, while his honest acknowledgment of gaps in his investigation only adds credibility. Characters vary in skin tone.
A riveting page-turner that will have readers eager to learn more about the topic. (author’s note, more information, miscellany, bibliography) (Graphic nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781536217438
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: today
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hot on the heels of the well-received Leonardo da Vinci (2005) comes another agreeably chatty entry in the Giants of Science series. Here the pioneering physicist is revealed as undeniably brilliant, but also cantankerous, mean-spirited, paranoid and possibly depressive. Newton’s youth and annus mirabilis receive respectful treatment, the solitude enforced by family estrangement and then the plague seen as critical to the development of his thoughtful, methodical approach. His subsequent squabbles with the rest of the scientific community—he refrained from publishing one treatise until his rival was dead—further support the image of Newton as a scientific lone wolf. Krull’s colloquial treatment sketches Newton’s advances in clearly understandable terms without bogging the text down with detailed explanations. A final chapter on “His Impact” places him squarely in the pantheon of great thinkers, arguing that both his insistence on the scientific method and his theories of physics have informed all subsequent scientific thought. A bibliography, web site and index round out the volume; the lack of detail on the use of sources is regrettable in an otherwise solid offering for middle-grade students. (Biography. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-670-05921-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2006
This glossy, colorful title in the “I Want To Be” series has visual appeal but poor organization and a fuzzy focus, which limits its usefulness. Each double-paged layout introduces a new topic with six to eight full-color photographs and a single column of text. Topics include types of environmentalists, eco-issues, waste renewal, education, High School of Environmental Studies, environmental vocabulary, history of environmentalism, famous environmentalists, and the return of the eagle. Often the photographs have little to do with the text or are marginal to the topic. For example, a typical layout called “Some Alternative Solutions” has five snapshots superimposed on a double-page photograph of a California wind farm. The text discusses ways to develop alternative forms of energy and “encourage environmentally friendly lifestyles.” Photos include “a healer who treats a patient with alternative therapy using sound and massage,” and “the Castle,” a house built of “used tires and aluminum cans.” Elsewhere, “Did You Know . . . ” shows a dramatic photo of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, but the text provides odd facts such as “ . . . that in Saudi Arabia there are solar-powered pay phones in the desert?” Some sections seem stuck in, a two-page piece on the effects of “El Niño” or 50 postage-stamp–sized photos of endangered species. The author concludes with places to write for more information and a list of photo credits. Pretty, but little here to warrant purchase. (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-15-201862-X
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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