A captivating exploration of a wonder-filled domain most of us can only imagine.
A treasure ship yields its riches—a teeming underwater world.
The ship sailed across the Caribbean in 1733 before sinking in a storm. Fortunately, the crew escaped. In the aftermath, the sunken galleon’s remains burgeoned with astonishing varieties of sea life and vegetation, all identified here. New generations blossomed over time. Who could have imagined that every part of a downed ship could nourish, sustain, and shelter new life? The ship’s remains enriched the seafloor, too, as it “decomposed in the shifting sands,” eventually erupting in “a rainbow of reef life.” Over time, the ship became an artificial reef, a “coral-reef treasure trove.” While the ship may have met a tragic end, the ultimate outcome is “a safe harbor for all.” In the author’s note, Hevron states that she was inspired by the sinking of the San Pedro and explains that sunken ships actually benefit the planet. With brief yet lyrical text and breezily humorous but informative dialogue, this treasure of a book will help young readers comprehend fascinating facts and salient concepts. Hevron indicates the passing of time, periodically noting the year up to the “present day.” The gorgeous illustrations, created with acrylic, marker, and pencil, then digitally collaged, bring the undersea environment and its denizens to vivid, breathtaking life. A simple diagram of the ship’s components graces the title page.
A captivating exploration of a wonder-filled domain most of us can only imagine. (additional reading, selected sources) (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2024
ISBN: 9781665935005
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
A gleeful game for budding naturalists.
Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.
In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781728271170
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
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