A colorful kid’s-book supplement for reports, projects and science fairs.
Another eye-catching earth science book for kids by award-winning author and former teacher Simon (Coral Reefs, 2013, etc.).
Simon’s signature, vivid color photographs adorn this readable primary text, which begins by comparing the Earth to a spaceship on a long journey. As the ship’s inhabitants, we humans must “learn to use our supplies wisely and protect our planet carefully,” writes Simon. After the book briefly introduces readers to the planets in the solar system, it covers topics such as the Earth’s orbit, its main climate zones, the five layers of the atmosphere (troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere), the jet stream, and the oceans and continents. The book’s organization is a bit awkward, as there are no boldface headings or clear divisions of topics. However, there are additional notes about the photographs at the end of the book for curious readers. Tidbits of modern-day information sprinkled throughout the text should also pique kids’ interest; for example, according to the author, over 180 billion email messages are sent on the planet Earth each day. This book could also be used to teach children about diversity, as it includes facts about the populations of various continents; according to Simon, for example, 2 out of every 3 people on Earth live in Asia, in sharp contrast to Australia, where fewer than 1 out of 100 people live. Additionally, the kid-friendly tone is sure to leave a lasting impression; at one point, Simon describes the Earth as a “Goldilocks planet,” meaning it is neither too hot nor too cold, but “just right” for life to exist on it. He also adds a weather-themed tongue twister, which ends with the playful, memorable line: “We'll weather the weather, whatever the weather, whether we like it or not.”
A colorful kid’s-book supplement for reports, projects and science fairs.Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2012
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 58
Publisher: StarWalk Kids Media
Review Posted Online: April 2, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Cookie-cutter predictability.
After all the daring escapes in the How To Catch… series, will the kids be able to catch Santa?
Oddly, previous installments saw the children trying (and failing) to catch an elf and a reindeer, but both are easily captured in this story. Santa, however, is slippery. Tempted but not fooled by poinsettias, a good book (attached to a slingshot armed with a teddy bear projectile), and, of course, milk and cookies, Santa foils every plan. The hero in a red suit has a job to do. Presents must be placed, and lists must be checked. He has no time for traps and foolery (except if you’re the elf, who falls for every one of them). Luckily, Santa helps the little rascal escape each time. Little is new here—the kids resort to similar snares found in previous works: netting, lures, and technological wonders such as the Santa Catcher 5000. Although the rhythm falters quite a bit (“How did we get out you ask? / It looked like we were done for. / Santa’s magic is very real, / and I cannot reveal more”), fans of the series may not mind. Santa and Christmas just might be enough to overcome the flaws. Santa and the elf are light-skinned, one of the children is brown-skinned, and the other presents as Asian. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Cookie-cutter predictability. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781728274270
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
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