An intriguing, entertaining investigation sure to catch readers’ attention.
The whats, whys, and hows of glitter.
Barton began his successful writing career with a book about shining colors, The Day-Glo Brothers (2009). Here, he tackles another showy subject. In an engaging, conversational narrative, he explains why glitter sparkles, speculates on why humans like sparkly, shiny things, and looks back at historical uses. He describes glittery bits made from the wings of beetles in ancient Egypt and from mica in civilizations around the world. Barton also examines the etymology of glitter. (It was once called flitter.) Then he turns to modern glitter, made from plastics, touching on the manufacturing process as well as glitter’s small size (measurable in microns) and uses, with special attention to Mardi Gras. Barton explains why glitter clings so easily to anything it touches and unpacks environmental concerns about microplastics, which often end up in the ocean. He mentions the more recent innovation of biodegradable glitter and problems with mica mining. Throughout Prabhat’s lively digitally created art, three young people follow the investigation. On one spread, a dark-skinned child with Afro puffs peers at glitter through a microscope while a light-skinned child with long, dark brown hair uses tweezers, and a brown-skinned child gazes through a magnifying glass. There’s humor, too, mostly related to glitter’s clinginess. The author ends on a hopeful note, praising “the steps humans are taking to shimmer more thoughtfully.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An intriguing, entertaining investigation sure to catch readers’ attention. (author’s and illustrator’s notes, further reading, selective bibliography) (Informational picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: June 27, 2023
ISBN: 9781623542528
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.
This book is buzzing with trivia.
Follow a swarm of bees as they leave a beekeeper’s apiary in search of a new home. As the scout bees traverse the fields, readers are provided with a potpourri of facts and statements about bees. The information is scattered—much like the scout bees—and as a result, both the nominal plot and informational content are tissue-thin. There are some interesting facts throughout the book, but many pieces of trivia are too, well trivial, to prove useful. For example, as the bees travel, readers learn that “onion flowers are round and fluffy” and “fennel is a plant that is used in cooking.” Other facts are oversimplified and as a result are not accurate. For example, monofloral honey is defined as “made by bees who visit just one kind of flower” with no acknowledgment of the fact that bees may range widely, and swarm activity is described as a springtime event, when it can also occur in summer and early fall. The information in the book, such as species identification and measurement units, is directed toward British readers. The flat, thin-lined artwork does little to enhance the story, but an “I spy” game challenging readers to find a specific bee throughout is amusing.
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere. (Informational picture book. 8-10)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-500-65265-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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