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MISSISSIPPI MORNING

Name: MISSISSIPPI MORNING
Author: Ruth Vander Zee
ISBN: 0-8028-5211-4

by Ruth Vander Zee & illustrated by Floyd Cooper ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2004

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Racial prejudice and equal doses of a boy’s naïveté and experiences collide in a coming-of-age moment that calibrates his moral compass. Life in rural Mississippi in 1933 seems simple, though racial relationships were complicated. James William does his chores, hangs out at his father’s store, and goes fishing with a young black friend. But slowly, he begins to understand that there are things going on that he hasn’t known. The Klan’s activities seem unbelievable to him, but his friends, both white and black, are sure that the stories are true. His father refuses to discuss it. James William soon learns the truth for himself—and his faith in his father changes forever. Vander Zee tells the story without judgment; as in real life, the facts fall where they may and the conclusions the reader will draw are inevitable. Cooper is at his best with action, emotion, and perspective; design lets the art fill the book with color and life; and Vander Zee’s dialogue crackles with import. Readers end with sympathetic feelings for James William—not only for the shaking of his social foundations, but the trauma of his father’s lies. (Picture book. 8-11)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2004

ISBN: 0-8028-5211-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Eerdmans

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2004

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
NEXT YEAR
by Ruth Vander Zee ; illustrated by Gary Kelley

- BOOK REVIEW
ALWAYS WITH YOU
by Ruth Vander Zee & illustrated by Ronald Himler

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1001 BEES

by Joanna Rzezak ; illustrated by Joanna Rzezak ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 18, 2021

Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
1001 BIRDS
by Joanna Rzezak ; illustrated by Joanna Rzezak

- BOOK REVIEW
1001 ANTS
by Joanna Rzezak ; illustrated by Joanna Rzezak

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HURRICANES

by Seymour Simon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2003

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Simon tackles his latest natural disaster in trademark but not very modern style. Information on hurricanes is clearly presented but poorly organized, and lacks any sense of drama or story. Aimed at the same age group as Dorothy Souza’s Hurricanes (1996) and Patricia Lauber’s Hurricanes: Earth’s Mightiest Storms, this falls short of both, often going into too much pedantic detail—the wind speeds of tropical depressions versus tropical storms—while failing to put needed perspective on some of the more eye-popping statistics. A hurricane can move more than a million cubic miles of atmosphere per second—but the naked numbers are essentially meaningless to students who think of millions in terms of ballplayers’ salaries and can’t imagine cubic miles at all. Photos of smashed houses and boats in front yards add excitement, but others—plain clouds?—detract; some are very grainy when blown up to the requisite full page. Formulaic and a numbing read-aloud. (Nonfiction. 8-10)