Budding scientists and mess-makers alike are sure to concoct lots of fun.
A mad-scientist manual that satisfies both the senses and the intellect, this is sure to be a popular, if somewhat sticky, title.
While not many of the projects in this book will necessarily be new to readers (or their adult minions), they are well known for a reason, and Brown rounds out the fun with his humorous presentation, as well as the gross factor. But this is much more than simply messy fun. Brown provides solid scientific explanations and introduces great vocabulary and concepts. A comprehensive safety section kicks off the book, then it’s on to the action. In “Slime and Goo,” readers are introduced to the tactile wonders that can be created with cornstarch, Borax and white glue. “Totally Gross” allows children to explore their more mature sides with fake vomit, snot and blood. Baking soda, vinegar, Pop Rocks, Alka-seltzer, soda and Mentos are the featured ingredients in “That’s Gas-tastic!,” while “Crazy Colors” might entail a trip to the store for iodine and red cabbage (and perhaps a re-supply of food coloring). “Incredible and Edible” lets kids explore the chemistry that allows cakes to rise, cucumbers to pickle and Jell-O to glow. Finally, with his “Create Your Own Concoctions” chapter, Brown encourages readers to mix up their own recipes based on the rules within his seven challenges. Owsley’s cartoon illustrations add more humor to the text, as well as helping children with the steps of the experiments.
Budding scientists and mess-makers alike are sure to concoct lots of fun. (Nonfiction. 7-14)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-936140-51-0
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Imagine Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
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
A quick flight but a blast from first to last.
A charged-up roundup of astro-facts.
Having previously explored everything awesome about both dinosaurs (2019) and sharks (2020), Lowery now heads out along a well-traveled route, taking readers from the Big Bang through a planet-by-planet tour of the solar system and then through a selection of space-exploration highlights. The survey isn’t unique, but Lowery does pour on the gosh-wow by filling each hand-lettered, poster-style spread with emphatic colors and graphics. He also goes for the awesome in his selection of facts—so that readers get nothing about Newton’s laws of motion, for instance, but will come away knowing that just 65 years separate the Wright brothers’ flight and the first moon landing. They’ll also learn that space is silent but smells like burned steak (according to astronaut Chris Hadfield), that thanks to microgravity no one snores on the International Space Station, and that Buzz Aldrin was the first man on the moon…to use the bathroom. And, along with a set of forgettable space jokes (OK, one: “Why did the carnivore eat the shooting star?” “Because it was meteor”), the backmatter features drawing instructions for budding space artists and a short but choice reading list. Nods to Katherine Johnson and NASA’s other African American “computers” as well as astronomer Vera Rubin give women a solid presence in the otherwise male and largely White cast of humans. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A quick flight but a blast from first to last. (Informational picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-35974-9
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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