An enjoyable nature puzzle with welcome substance.
Appearances can deceive.
This natural world guessing game invites readers to categorize specimens (as a rock, animal, or plant) shown out of context on a blank background. The clever use of page turns makes the point that “things aren’t always what they seem at first glance.” After defining rocks, plants, and animals, Kaner introduces the question-and-answer process. What looks like a pink, spiky, flowering plant is revealed on the following page to be a purple sea urchin, shown in its ocean home. A short paragraph discusses the animal, plant, or rock formation, sometimes explaining where it might be found. Kaner, experienced in introducing science topics to young readers, has chosen 14 interesting examples and anticipates some likely questions. From the reef stonefish to the Satanic leaf-tailed gecko to the desert rose, the plants and animals come from all over the world. Lane, a former wildlife biologist, adds information with her accurate renditions, done in a soft pastel palette. The title would also work as a read-aloud for a small group. The text concludes with a reminder that the lesson not to judge things by appearances applies to people as well and provides a page of relevant words to know. This book will appeal to the young audience who might have enjoyed Tana Hoban’s long-out-of-print Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral (1995) but offers considerably more information. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An enjoyable nature puzzle with welcome substance. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-77147-444-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
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
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