Fun with bugs.
Oversized illustrations of various insects “slither, creep, crawl, scamper, swim, climb…or fly” across colorful pages that also sport the “Extraordinary Facts” announced on the cover.
The initial double-page spread is a bright, grassy green. A large black headline announces “The bug club.” Directly beneath it, in smaller black lettering: “Step into the exciting world of mini-beasts! Don’t be afraid!” Large, colorful, semicomical renditions of several insects—and a lizard whose tongue is trying to catch a fly—are scattered across the pages, accompanied by blocks of text that give a few facts about cicadas, rhinoceros beetles, peacock butterflies, tiger beetles, and ants. More text is included in two opaque circles of contrasting colors, each with the headline, “Wow!” Each succeeding double-page spread uses a similar layout, producing in readers the opposite effect of a bedtime story. The categories include legs, homes, camouflage, unusual survival skills, and more. On several occasions, the text cleverly adds buglike meanings to well-known sayings. Although the colorful busy-ness and overabundance of exclamation marks would suggest a preschool audience, an abundance of text and compound sentences makes it more appropriate for older readers who don’t mind hype. Their reward: plenty of cool and/or gross facts with which to impress others. Hopefully, young readers will read all the way to the ending’s reminder of the importance of bugs to our planet. Companion title Wow! Look What’s in the Oceans publishes simultaneously and with similar effect.
Fun with bugs. (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7534-7517-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kingfisher
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Another playful imagination-stretcher.
Markle invites children to picture themselves living in the homes of 11 wild animals.
As in previous entries in the series, McWilliam’s illustrations of a diverse cast of young people fancifully imitating wild creatures are paired with close-up photos of each animal in a like natural setting. The left side of one spread includes a photo of a black bear nestling in a cozy winter den, while the right side features an image of a human one cuddled up with a bear. On another spread, opposite a photo of honeybees tending to newly hatched offspring, a human “larva” lounges at ease in a honeycomb cell, game controller in hand, as insect attendants dish up goodies. A child with an eye patch reclines on an orb weaver spider’s web, while another wearing a head scarf constructs a castle in a subterranean chamber with help from mound-building termites. Markle adds simple remarks about each type of den, nest, or burrow and basic facts about its typical residents, then closes with a reassuring reminder to readers that they don’t have to live as animals do, because they will “always live where people live.” A select gallery of traditional homes, from igloo and yurt to mudhif, follows a final view of the young cast waving from a variety of differently styled windows.
Another playful imagination-stretcher. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781339049052
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe.
An introduction to gravity.
The book opens with the most iconic demonstration of gravity, an apple falling. Throughout, Herz tackles both huge concepts—how gravity compresses atoms to form stars and how black holes pull all kinds of matter toward them—and more concrete ones: how gravity allows you to jump up and then come back down to the ground. Gravity narrates in spare yet lyrical verse, explaining how it creates planets and compresses atoms and comparing itself to a hug. “My embrace is tight enough that you don’t float like a balloon, but loose enough that you can run and leap and play.” Gravity personifies itself at times: “I am stubborn—the bigger things are, the harder I pull.” Beautiful illustrations depict swirling planets and black holes alongside racially diverse children playing, running, and jumping, all thanks to gravity. Thorough backmatter discusses how Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity and explains Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. While at times Herz’s explanations may be a bit too technical for some readers, burgeoning scientists will be drawn in.
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe. (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: April 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668936849
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tilbury House
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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