Splashy and original.
An anthropomorphic drop of water takes readers through this basic explanation of Earth’s water cycle.
The initial pages predict the perfectly chosen medium of watercolor art throughout. The verso is fully packed with attractive, wavy lines of blue that contain random blotches of the same hue. The white recto shows the same small, round splash of blue shown on the cover, with dots for eyes, a simple smile, and spindly limbs. The main text reads, “This is water.” Black ink lettering nearer to the water droplet allow the droplet a comment: “Hi! I’m Drop!” The next set of pages uses the figure 4,500,000,000 as well as the spelled-out words for the number to show the probable age, in years, of water on the planet. Benign cartoon dinosaurs in upbeat colors add emphasis. Careful design throughout shows all forms of water storage—and release—on Earth. When Drop is warmed by the sun, “she gets all warm and wiggly.” She is invisible for a while, after which some friends join her so they can create clouds and, finally, precipitation—a word that, along with other appropriate terms—such as evaporation and sublimation—receives explanation in charts on the front and rear endpapers. Anthropomorphizing water droplets, especially with cutesy art, will turn off some readers. However, those undeterred will enjoy humorous, sophisticated wordplay while absorbing science. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 20.8% of actual size.) (Editor’s note: This review has been revised following the publisher’s provision of additional content missing from original submission.)
Splashy and original. (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Feb. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8037-4144-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
A mixed bag.
An alphabetical tour of emotions.
This British import mixes words that many young kids will know, such as brave, kind, and mad (the last defined in the American sense, as angry), with less-familiar ones such as overwhelmed and vulnerable. It even features at least one word that may be new to adults: “X is for Xenial….Xenial is being welcoming to strangers.” Compounding the difficulty here, the visual image of a Black kid dressed as a magician hugging a rabbit they’ve pulled out of a hat does not exactly illustrate xeniality (xenialness?). Other illustrations do a better job of helping readers understand the words being introduced. The illustrations feature racially diverse children and are usually paired in each double-page spread: “A is for Anxious. Anxious is feeling really worried about something. / B is for Brave. Brave is being nervous about something and doing it anyway.” On the A page, a brown-skinned kid cowers from the dragon that encircles their bed, as in a nightmare. Across the gutter on the B page, the ferociously scowling child confronts the now-intimidated monster. Kids will get an immediate sense of those two words. Animals, real and imaginary, often play a role in the pictures. The book will be best shared one on one or in very small groups, when children can really spend time examining the pictures and talking about their own impression of what is happening in each picture. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A mixed bag. (word list) (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-20519-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
An ideal lead-in to more specific guides to aquarium setup and fish care.
A first introduction to our planet’s finny residents, particularly the decidedly uncommon goldfish.
Preceded by an entire piscatorial ABC that extends over six pages, two children of color lecture an audience of house pets (and readers) about such typical fishy features as scales and gills—properly noting that some fish, like certain eels, have no scales and some, like hagfish, no bony spines. The two then zero in on goldfish, explaining that they are easier to keep at home than tropical fish, originated long ago in China, can recognize the faces of people who bring them food, and with proper care live 25 years. All of this information is presented in a mix of dialogue balloons and single lines of commentary in block letters, accompanying cleanly drawn cartoon illustrations that alternate between a domestic setting and labeled portraits of various fish rendered in fine, exact detail. With easily digestible doses of biological and historical background, common-sense cautionary notes, and a buoyant tone, this is an appealing dive for newly independent readers out to enhance the household menagerie.
An ideal lead-in to more specific guides to aquarium setup and fish care. (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943145-15-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: TOON Books & Graphics
Review Posted Online: Feb. 13, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017
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