A strong choice for any young reader interested in the natural world.
A hands-on handbook that traverses nine habitats around the globe, sharing stories of nature protectors and encouraging new ones.
Well-designed and smartly organized, this handsome title demonstrates the wide range of ways the environment can be protected. Each chapter focuses on one habitat: mountains, forests, deserts, polar lands, ocean, freshwater, cities, rainforests, and grasslands. The structure of each chapter is simple to follow and is repeated consistently, including profiles of two individuals, a description of a natural wonder, creative ways to experience the habitat close to home, an environmental success story, a DIY project, and concrete steps readers can take to protect this habitat. With every turn of the page, stimulating stories, compelling facts, colorful pictures, and action items provide ideas for readers. The biographies and success stories are entertaining human-interest tales that read like short stories. The habitat protectors vary in age, gender, ability, nationality, and race—some, like Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, are modern while others, such as Central Park designer Frederick Law Olmsted, are historical. The suggested activities are interdisciplinary, providing inspiration that proves that all types of people can enjoy and protect nature. Orlando’s truly beautiful art, with its soft edges and natural tones, contributes to the inviting, welcoming reading experience.
A strong choice for any young reader interested in the natural world. (bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 25, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68369-246-1
Page Count: 232
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Contentwise, an arbitrary assortment…but sure to draw fans of comics, of science, or of both.
Flash, Batman, and other characters from the DC Comics universe tackle supervillains and STEM-related topics and sometimes, both.
Credited to 20 writers and illustrators in various combinations, the 10 episodes invite readers to tag along as Mera and Aquaman visit oceanic zones from epipelagic to hadalpelagic; Supergirl helps a young scholar pick a science-project topic by taking her on a tour of the solar system; and Swamp Thing lends Poison Ivy a hand to describe how DNA works (later joining Swamp Kid to scuttle a climate-altering scheme by Arcane). In other episodes, various costumed creations explain the ins and outs of diverse large- and small-scale phenomena, including electricity, atomic structure, forensic techniques, 3-D printing, and the lactate threshold. Presumably on the supposition that the characters will be more familiar to readers than the science, the minilectures tend to start from simple basics, but the figures are mostly both redrawn to look more childlike than in the comics and identified only in passing. Drawing styles and page designs differ from chapter to chapter but not enough to interrupt overall visual unity and flow—and the cast is sufficiently diverse to include roles for superheroes (and villains) of color like Cyborg, Kid Flash, and the Latina Green Lantern, Jessica Cruz. Appended lists of websites and science-based YouTube channels, plus instructions for homespun activities related to each episode, point inspired STEM-winders toward further discoveries.
Contentwise, an arbitrary assortment…but sure to draw fans of comics, of science, or of both. (Graphic nonfiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77950-382-4
Page Count: 160
Publisher: DC
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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