An adaptation of Herman’s Visual Intelligence (2016).
This creative reimagining from a renowned art historian and leadership trainer is divided into three sections (“How To See,” “How To THINK About What You See,” and “How To TALK About What You See”). Opening with a series of exercises to spark more active looking and increase readers’ powers of observation, the first section offers a fascinating discussion of psychological phenomena that can impede our ability to make accurate observations and how to circumvent those preconceptions. The second part focuses on organizing all those pieces of visual information and thinking through to gather as many clues and details as possible. The third section closes the circle by explaining how readers can use accurate, objective, precise language to convey their observations of the world to others. Written in a conversational tone and full of journal-style prompts (for instance, look at Edvard Munch’s The Scream and list everything you notice about it) along with longer-term practice exercises, this is a book to be revisited again and again. At each stage, readers are encouraged to become more aware of their initial assumptions and perceptions and the ways those reactions may be skewed or flawed, gently touching on unintentional but automatic biases and judgments. The thorough discussion of clearer, more effective communication transfers to many contexts, and Herman’s note to adult readers sets the stage for use of this book as a whole-family learning experience.
An engaging, enlightening interpretation that will lead readers young and old to clearer observation and deeper thought. (endnotes, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66590-121-5
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2022
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With STEM now the hot trend in education and concerted efforts to encourage girls to explore scientific fields, this collective biography is most timely.
Swaby offers 33 brief profiles of some of the world’s most influential women in science, organized in loose groupings: technology and innovation, earth and stars, health and medicine, and biology. Some of the figures, such as Mary Anning, Rachel Carson, Florence Nightingale, Sally Ride, and Marie Tharp, have been written about for young readers, but most have not. Among the lesser known are Stephanie Kwolek, the American chemist who invented Kevlar; Yvonne Brill, the Canadian engineer who invented a thruster used in satellites; Elsie Widdowson, the British nutritionist who demonstrated how important fluid and salt are for the body to properly function; and Italian neuroembryologist Rita Levi-Montalcini, who made breakthrough discoveries in nerve-cell growth. Swaby emphasizes that most of these scientists had to overcome great obstacles before achieving their successes and receiving recognition due to gender-based discrimination. She also notes that people are not born brilliant scientists and that it’s through repeated observation, experimentation, and testing of ideas that important discoveries are made.
An interesting, engaging collection of snapshot profiles that will encourage readers to explore further and perhaps pursue their own scientific curiosities. (source notes, bibliography) (Collective biography. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-55396-7
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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BOOK REVIEW
Glaciers on this planet are vanishing—learn how we know, why we should care, and what we can do.
The author of Itch (2018) and Rotten (2019), both illustrated by Gilbert Ford, turns her attention to another underappreciated part of the natural world: glaciers. With a foreword by glaciologist Jill Pelto and an introduction laying out the problem, Sanchez prepares her readers for the cold hard truth to come. Chapter by chapter, she explains the important roles glaciers play in our world, how we know they are melting, and why that’s happening—clearly explaining climate change. She shows how ice cores reveal climate history, introduces animals and plants that thrive in glacier country, and describes what the future might bring. Sanchez concludes with suggestions for action, personal and communal. At several points, she brings in Indigenous points of view. The author addresses readers directly with compelling evidence for her thesis that this is yet another manifestation of climate change that will wreak havoc on the world we know. Unfamiliar words are bolded and defined in context as well as in a glossary. Encouraging readers to take action, Sanchez includes in the backmatter a long list of science specialties concerned with glaciers. There are occasional photographs, helpful diagrams, and artistic depictions of glacial scenes throughout, breaking up the text and adding appeal; people depicted in Padula’s illustrations are diverse.
An important perspective on our changing climate. (author’s note, additional resources, select bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5235-0950-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2022
Categories: CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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