A surface-level hodgepodge.
An introduction to our solar system and space travel.
Despite the title, only three of the 25 spreads explain how rockets work. The rest describe other propulsion methods (such as ion engines and solar sails) and various places of interest in space. What’s more, the description of rocket propulsion is unclear and misleading. A common simple explanation, not mentioned here, is that rockets push exhaust behind them to move forward, as jellyfish push water. Here, “a rocket burns mixtures of chemicals and pushes against the resulting exhaust to accelerate forward,” which makes it sound as though the exhaust doesn’t move—but the most important thing to understand is that it moves backward. Child readers are unlikely to pick that up from the integrated form of the rocket equation, appearing without explanation on the endpapers. Some content truly is beginner-friendly: “Getting to space is hard,” the text declares, adding, several pages later, “Getting to Mars is hard!” Other sentences ask much more from young readers: “Moons orbit planets, planets and asteroids orbit stars, and stars orbit the centers of galaxies, which often contain supermassive black holes, which have so much gravity that even light can’t escape!” Illustrations are straightforward and geometric, like a textbook’s, but with less detail. Vocabulary defined in a closing glossary is highlighted in the narrative, but some choices befuddle: Planet is defined, for instance, but suborbital path is not.
A surface-level hodgepodge. (list of selected spacecraft, glossary, resources) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0742-2
Page Count: 63
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2020
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care.
In 1977, the oil carrier Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil into a formerly pristine Alaskan ocean inlet, killing millions of birds, animals, and fish. Despite a cleanup, crude oil is still there.
The Winters foretold the destructive powers of the atomic bomb allusively in The Secret Project (2017), leaving the actuality to the backmatter. They make no such accommodations to young audiences in this disturbing book. From the dark front cover, on which oily blobs conceal a seabird, to the rescuer’s sad face on the back, the mother-son team emphasizes the disaster. A relatively easy-to-read and poetically heightened text introduces the situation. Oil is pumped from the Earth “all day long, all night long, / day after day, year after year” in “what had been unspoiled land, home to Native people // and thousands of caribou.” The scale of extraction is huge: There’s “a giant pipeline” leading to “enormous ships.” Then, crash. Rivers of oil gush out over three full-bleed wordless pages. Subsequent scenes show rocks, seabirds, and sea otters covered with oil. Finally, 30 years later, animals have returned to a cheerful scene. “But if you lift a rock… // oil / seeps / up.” For an adult reader, this is heartbreaking. How much more difficult might this be for an animal-loving child?
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3077-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
An accessible and entertaining introduction to a basic science tool.
Packed with examples, this children’s book explains how scientists record observations in field journals.
Children in science class who are asked to write down observations in a notebook or journal may wonder how this actually works for professional scientists. This introduction to the subject demystifies the process, beginning by defining the central concepts. Field, for example, means scientists “are not sitting in an office or a laboratory. Instead, they are in a field, a meadow, a cave, or wherever they need to be to make their observations in nature.” Pattison explains the kind of information recorded, such as lists, daily events, narratives, maps, descriptions, and measurements, along with images clarified through captions, labels, or keys providing important facts. The book then turns to 13 scientists from fields including entomology, botany, ornithology, geology, and taxidermy. Each entry includes a photographic portrait and a short biography listing notable accomplishments and experiences and a description of methods, illustrated with relevant images, such as facsimiles of field notes and examples of many kinds of observations. Because the volume focuses on scientists born in the 19th or early 20th centuries, many of the entries are handwritten or drawn, showing that students don’t need fancy equipment to perform fieldwork. In her latest science-focused book for children, the author provides clear, understandable, but not oversimplified explanations in an attractively presented format. The notebook entries make for compelling study, such as entomologist Margaret S. Collins’ observations of a territorial showdown between termite colonies: “She drew a map showing the opening positions, and then new maps as the battle continued,” recording developments over the 40-minute conflict. A final section, “Start Your Own Field Book,” supplies useful tips. But it’s unfortunate that only three female scientists are included—not for lack of historical examples.
An accessible and entertaining introduction to a basic science tool.Pub Date: Aug. 10, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-62-944191-7
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Mims House
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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