An unidentified local inhabitant describes the process and some of the people responsible for the recent transformation of the Danish island of Samsø to energy self-sufficiency. His chatty narration is accompanied by loosely drawn ink-and-watercolor illustrations emphasizing the island’s windy nature. Windmill blades and pinwheels turn, hats blow off and clouds scud. Ranging from vignettes to full-page spreads and series showing the passage of time, these sketches perfectly reflect the story line. For older, more able readers, sidebars add explanations of relevant concepts: nonrenewable and renewable energy, the carbon dioxide problem, global warming, wind and other forms of energy and conservation. Though the focus is wind power, the author mentions other sources and energy-saving activities. In an afterword, he explains he has slightly adjusted the timeline. While he concentrates on the activities of Søren Hermansen, a local teacher who is now leader of the Samsø Energy Academy, he introduces two other early actors. A rough map shows Denmark’s general location in the eastern hemisphere but doesn’t label the North Sea or show enough of North America to help readers pinpoint the actual location. But the message is clear: An initially unconcerned community banded together and took steps that led to their current fame as a model of environmental action; we other residents of the island that is planet Earth can do that, too. (Informational picture book. 7-10)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-32184-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
An exuberant portrayal of a girl with hearing restrictions reaching for the stars.
Astrid, a spunky, smart California third grader, has great aspirations.
She will become “the first astronaut with hearing aids,” a possibility that is treated very naturally within this story, the first in a new chapter book series. Joining the Shooting Stars, an after-school club devoted to all things space, has long been part of Astrid’s “Astronomically Grand Plan.” Though Astrid wants to go to space camp, it’s expensive, but a scholarship is available for the Shooting Stars student who earns the most points for completing the STEM-oriented Astro Missions. She discovers another problem when she realizes that her best friend, Hallie, is more interested in art than in STEM and joins the Petite Picassos club. How can Astrid navigate Shooting Stars without her BFF, especially when she and her teammate Veejay don’t start out well? Club teacher Ms. Ruiz stresses creativity and partnership, and math and science enthusiasts will be attracted to this book, but the real emphasis is on relationships. Astrid must befriend Hallie again after voicing her disappointment with her interests and learn to be a good teammate. Astrid is likable, and her story, told in first person, realistically explores her hearing issues, her initial problem-solving failures, and her successes. Black-and-white illustrations depict Astrid (wearing her hearing aids) and her family as light-skinned, though other students appear to be racially diverse, and Hallie is cued as Asian.
An exuberant portrayal of a girl with hearing restrictions reaching for the stars. (Chapter book. 7-10)Pub Date: July 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8148-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
An absorbing read that balances lessons about friendship and science.
When a hurricane threatens to ruin Diwali, teamwork—and a little bit of magic—is all a young Indian girl needs to save the day.
It’s Diwali, and Sejal, 8, can’t wait to draw rangoli, light sparklers, and devour a traditional Indian feast with her family, including her younger brother, Abu, her older cousin Mira, and her dog, Fluff Monster. But then a hurricane threatens to put a damper on the festivities. Determined to save the day, Sejal gathers up Professor Cheetah, her “best stuffie friend,” and hops into her cardboard box, which, with a little bit of magic, transforms into a “hurricane-hunting aircraft.” She’s soon joined by a frantic Abu, an enthusiastic Fluff Monster, and a reluctant Mira, who no longer believes in cardboard-box magic. It isn’t until the team meets a group of scientists in the center of the storm that Mira admits that magic is just as real as science—and that some jobs require a degree of imagination that only children possess. Prasad layers the narrative with internal and external conflicts, investing just as much importance in Sejal’s determination to salvage her relationship with her cousin as she does in the children’s mission to save Diwali. At its best, Sejal’s narratorial voice crackles with intelligence and perseverance; at times, however, the language is a bit clunky. Overall, though, the book is a well-plotted, entertaining story about science, tradition, creative thinking, and growing up.
An absorbing read that balances lessons about friendship and science. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781665911788
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
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