A high-spirited lead-in to discussions of evolution’s proofs and mechanisms, despite the anthropocentric view of Earth’s...
Using colorful language and depicting crayon and collage creatures with wide eyes, even at the single-cell stage, this simple account retraces the history of life on Earth from “tiny floating bits” to humans.
From blasting volcanoes and belching gasses to a closing panorama of buildings, factories and busy highways, Husband’s naïve-style cartoon pictures populate the planet with cells, multicelled creatures, plants and animals on land and in the sea, dinosaurs, mammals and then humans in succession. Two major extinction events also get mentions, though they are not specifically named. A linking narrative incorporates the ideas that living things “fought for food and space” and also “evolved” to fill distinct environmental niches. Various terms and phrases from the text are repeated in labels that point to the appropriate spots on the page—for instance those aforementioned “tiny bits.” The authors display a rather parochial point of view in claims that life only “really began to get going” when animals appeared and that following the age of dinosaurs, mammals “took over the world.” However, after noting that we really should be taking better care of our home, they do close with the broader and more accurate observation that “with or without us, our planet will spin through space for billions of years to come.”
A high-spirited lead-in to discussions of evolution’s proofs and mechanisms, despite the anthropocentric view of Earth’s biosphere. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-84780-485-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
The story feels a bit contrived, but Ada will be a welcome addition to the small circle of science-loving girls in the...
Using science and technology, third-grader Ada Lace kicks off her new series by solving a mystery even with her leg in a cast.
Temporarily housebound after a badly executed bungee jump, Ada uses binoculars to document the ecosystem of her new neighborhood in San Francisco. She records her observations in a field journal, a project that intrigues new friend Nina, who lives nearby. When they see that Ms. Reed’s dog, Marguerite, is missing, they leap to the conclusion that it has been stolen. Nina does the legwork and Ada provides the technology for their search for the dognapper. Story-crafting takes a back seat to scene-setting in this series kickoff that introduces the major players. As part of the series formula, science topics and gadgetry are integrated into the stories and further explained in a “Behind the Science” afterword. This installment incorporates drones, a wireless camera, gecko gloves, and the Turing test as well as the concept of an ecosystem. There are no ethnic indicators in the text, but the illustrations reveal that Ada, her family, and bratty neighbor Milton are white; Nina appears to be Southeast Asian; and Mr. Peebles, an inventor who lives nearby, is black.
The story feels a bit contrived, but Ada will be a welcome addition to the small circle of science-loving girls in the chapter-book world. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-8599-9
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
A floral fantasia for casual browsers as well as budding botanists.
Spirited illustrations brighten a large-format introduction to flowers and their pollinators.
Showing a less Eurocentric outlook than in his Big Book of Birds (2019), Zommer employs agile brushwork and a fondness for graceful lines and bright colors to bring to life bustling bouquets from a range of habitats, from rainforest to desert. Often switching from horizontal to vertical orientations, the topical spreads progress from overviews of major floral families and broad looks at plant anatomy and reproduction to close-ups of select flora—roses and tulips to Venus flytraps and stinking flowers. The book then closes with a shoutout to the conservators and other workers at Kew Gardens (this is a British import) and quick suggestions for young balcony or windowsill gardeners. In most of the low-angled scenes, fancifully drawn avian or insect pollinators with human eyes hover around all the large, luscious blooms, as do one- or two-sentence comments that generally add cogent observations or insights: “All parts of the deadly nightshade plant contain poison. It has been used to poison famous emperors, kings and warriors throughout history.” (Confusingly for the audience, the accurate but limited assertion that bees “often visit blue or purple flowers” appears to be contradicted by an adjacent view of several zeroing in on a yellow toadflax.) Human figures, or, in one scene, hands, are depicted in a variety of sizes, shapes, and skin colors.
A floral fantasia for casual browsers as well as budding botanists. (glossary, index) (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-500-65199-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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