by Seymour Simon ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2013
For research or for pleasure, titles by Jason Chin, Sneed Collard or Gail Gibbons offer more.
The author of over 250 science books for children turns his attention to coral reefs.
Coral reefs, readers learn, are both the skeletons of reef-building corals and the community that makes use of them. Although they make up only a tiny portion of the ocean floor, they provide a home to a quarter of all underwater ocean life. Only a rain forest ecosystem supports more plants and animals. In an expository text that sometimes reads like a set of lecture notes, Simon’s introduction covers reef formation and locations and describes some inhabitants: different kinds of coral, fish and invertebrates. He notes that activity is different at night, and he mentions both the value of these areas and threats to their survival. Beautiful stock photographs, some stretching across the fold and some showing humans exploring that marvelous world, make this a treat for the eye. But this is eye candy, not nourishment. There are no labels. Images usually connect with something in the accompanying text, but without previous familiarity with the subject, readers will find them hard to interpret. A nighttime scene features a lionfish, but there is no mention of the danger that invasive species poses to Atlantic reefs.
For research or for pleasure, titles by Jason Chin, Sneed Collard or Gail Gibbons offer more. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 6-10)Pub Date: May 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-191495-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
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by Andrea Beaty ; illustrated by David Roberts ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2019
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book.
Ada Twist’s incessant stream of questions leads to answers that help solve a neighborhood crisis.
Ada conducts experiments at home to answer questions such as, why does Mom’s coffee smell stronger than Dad’s coffee? Each answer leads to another question, another hypothesis, and another experiment, which is how she goes from collecting data on backyard birds for a citizen-science project to helping Rosie Revere figure out how to get her uncle Ned down from the sky, where his helium-filled “perilous pants” are keeping him afloat. The Questioneers—Rosie the engineer, Iggy Peck the architect, and Ada the scientist—work together, asking questions like scientists. Armed with knowledge (of molecules and air pressure, force and temperature) but more importantly, with curiosity, Ada works out a solution. Ada is a recognizable, three-dimensional girl in this delightfully silly chapter book: tirelessly curious and determined yet easily excited and still learning to express herself. If science concepts aren’t completely clear in this romp, relationships and emotions certainly are. In playful full- and half-page illustrations that break up the text, Ada is black with Afro-textured hair; Rosie and Iggy are white. A closing section on citizen science may inspire readers to get involved in science too; on the other hand, the “Ode to a Gas!” may just puzzle them. Other backmatter topics include the importance of bird study and the threat palm-oil use poses to rainforests.
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3422-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
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by Claudia Mills ; illustrated by Rob Shepperson ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 14, 2016
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading.
When Franklin School principal Mr. Boone announces a pet-show fundraiser, white third-grader Cody—whose lack of skill and interest in academics is matched by keen enthusiasm for and knowledge of animals—discovers his time to shine.
As with other books in this series, the children and adults are believable and well-rounded. Even the dialogue is natural—no small feat for a text easily accessible to intermediate readers. Character growth occurs, organically and believably. Students occasionally, humorously, show annoyance with teachers: “He made mad squinty eyes at Mrs. Molina, which fortunately she didn’t see.” Readers will be kept entertained by Cody’s various problems and the eventual solutions. His problems include needing to raise $10 to enter one of his nine pets in the show (he really wants to enter all of them), his troublesome dog Angus—“a dog who ate homework—actually, who ate everything and then threw up afterward”—struggles with homework, and grappling with his best friend’s apparently uncaring behavior toward a squirrel. Serious values and issues are explored with a light touch. The cheery pencil illustrations show the school’s racially diverse population as well as the memorable image of Mr. Boone wearing an elephant costume. A minor oddity: why does a child so immersed in animal facts call his male chicken a rooster but his female chickens chickens?
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-374-30223-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
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