Informative and fun.
Take a virtual road trip around New York State.
A “Welcome to New York” introduction along with an illustrated map of the state sets a lighthearted tone, suggesting everything that is weird and wonderful and uniquely New York. Each region of the state is introduced in its own double-page spread from the bottom-up, beginning with New York City and Long Island and moving north and west until reaching Niagara Falls and the Canadian border, all depicted in eye-catching, colorful, iconic scenes from each area, with scattered text in a small font providing appropriate factual bits and pieces on everything from sports, food, and nature to museums and attractions and much more. Statistics and a historical timeline are included. What could have been a straightforward textbook is, instead, a quirky approach to the subject that encourages young readers to peruse the elements that appeal to them and to come back to learn more. There is plenty of solid information here, but there is also a great deal of the odd and unexpected and, yes, the weird and wacky, from a mention of the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival to a section on things invented in New York (among them Jell-O, Scrabble, and pipe cleaners). (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Informative and fun. (index) (Informational picture book. 7-11)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780711281431
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
Despite some bright spots, the lapses in information limit this book’s effectiveness.
Celebrations the world over involve parades, foods, traditional clothing, masks, songs, and games.
Information on 14 festivals, country maps, small photos, sidebars with holiday traditions (in the appropriate language, with pronunciations), and instructions for a craft or a recipe make up the jam-packed left-hand page of each spread. Colorful, detailed cartoon illustrations appear opposite. There are certainly interesting facts and activities, but careless errors (including a typo to be corrected in the second printing) and a decided slant toward Western Europe (five countries) diminish the volume’s value. Opening with a monthly timeline, it offers a basic explanation of the lunar calendar, but this is not integrated into the overall schematic. This spread also includes a note about adult help for crafting and cooking. Many of the holidays are commonly celebrated in many places, and the author’s failure to point out that Eid al-Fitr, for instance, is celebrated around the globe and not just in Egypt is a sad, missed opportunity. A few festivals are not often presented in books of this ilk, such as Bhutan’s Dangpai Losar (New Year) and Laternenfest, held on St. Martin’s Day in Germany. The last spread brings children from the different countries together and asks readers to create their own celebrations. Sadly, given the glancing notice necessitated by the format, there are no further resources included.
Despite some bright spots, the lapses in information limit this book’s effectiveness. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 7-10)Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4549-3213-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fact-filled exploration of one of the country’s most important natural wonders.
Come explore the history and attractions of the world’s first national park.
Yellowstone National Park, the enormous Rocky Mountain area of wilderness that covers nearly 3,500 square miles, is examined from a variety of angles in this deeply informative book. Starting by describing the scale of a park that sits in three U.S. states (Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho), this installment in the Earth’s Incredible Places series goes on to chart the history of the park; its natural attractions, such as a supervolcano, geysers, and waterfalls; and the many types of animals living there. While it was established in 1872 as a national park, the history of the land goes back much further, and the book describes in detail the many Indigenous tribes that visited the land before and after the arrival of European explorers. Ard also discusses what the park is like today with its more than 800 employees and many sights and activities for modern visitors. Illustrations throughout evoke the park’s natural beauty as well as the liveliness of its inhabitants and visitors, making it a place any reader will likely want to someday visit. People depicted are racially diverse.
A fact-filled exploration of one of the country’s most important natural wonders. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 7-11)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781838748562
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Flying Eye Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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