Simple but effective storytelling to spark children’s curiosity and appreciation for the wider natural world.
A magic book sends a little girl and her dog adventuring into the ocean depths.
Signore’s entertaining, fact-based book for ages 6 to 9, about best friends and explorers Charlotte and her dog, Henry, launches an early reader series that details some of the Earth’s astonishing natural wonders. In this entry, thanks to a mysterious, glowing book and new friends they meet along the way, the adventurous pair visit the Mariana Trench. Written in loose verse and rhythmic prose, the book is an appealing mix of storytelling and educational content. The journey begins with Claudius Ptolemy, the 2nd-century Greco-Roman astronomer, mathematician, and geographer, who maps the way to the Mariana Trench, “the deepest, darkest place in the whole wide ocean.” Ptolemy isn’t the only real-life figure the pair encounter; on a beach, where the map’s dotted line “drifts out to sea,” they meet the late Australian conservationist Steve Irwin, who helps them with a sea turtle rescue and sees them off on a kiteboard ride across the ocean. After a surprise appearance by famed oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, they travel to his famous ship, the Calypso, on the back of a friendly whale, lulled to sleep by its song. Once aboard, renowned marine biologist Sylvia Earle takes them on a submersible trip into the Mariana Trench. The expressive narrative, conveying action and emotion with a light touch, highlights the drama of the event: Winched up from the Calypso’s deck, the submersible swings out “wide over open sea, dangling there like a yo-yo,” then sunlight fades to black as the small craft descends deeper and deeper. The author’s captivating black-and-white spot illustrations add visual appeal, and complementary elements offer additional content, such as simply worded “Ocean Facts,” a glossary that defines words and terms, and a “STEM & SEL” questionnaire that asks readers to “Think About the Ocean,” “Think Like a Scientist,” and “Think With a Brave Heart.”
Simple but effective storytelling to spark children’s curiosity and appreciation for the wider natural world.Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
ISBN: 9798234014016
Page Count: 87
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book.
Ada Twist’s incessant stream of questions leads to answers that help solve a neighborhood crisis.
Ada conducts experiments at home to answer questions such as, why does Mom’s coffee smell stronger than Dad’s coffee? Each answer leads to another question, another hypothesis, and another experiment, which is how she goes from collecting data on backyard birds for a citizen-science project to helping Rosie Revere figure out how to get her uncle Ned down from the sky, where his helium-filled “perilous pants” are keeping him afloat. The Questioneers—Rosie the engineer, Iggy Peck the architect, and Ada the scientist—work together, asking questions like scientists. Armed with knowledge (of molecules and air pressure, force and temperature) but more importantly, with curiosity, Ada works out a solution. Ada is a recognizable, three-dimensional girl in this delightfully silly chapter book: tirelessly curious and determined yet easily excited and still learning to express herself. If science concepts aren’t completely clear in this romp, relationships and emotions certainly are. In playful full- and half-page illustrations that break up the text, Ada is black with Afro-textured hair; Rosie and Iggy are white. A closing section on citizen science may inspire readers to get involved in science too; on the other hand, the “Ode to a Gas!” may just puzzle them. Other backmatter topics include the importance of bird study and the threat palm-oil use poses to rainforests.
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3422-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Models attention to detail and deductive reasoning in a fun beach setting, complete with interesting facts.
Beachcombers and shell seekers, gather ’round and meet Shelby and Watts, Planetary Investigators.
When Fred the hermit crab can’t find a new, larger shell to move into, he seeks out the “brilliant brains” of Shelby and Watts. Shelby, a fox, is the detective in the duo, and Watts, a badger, loves facts, adding simple fun ones—about hermit crabs, tides, tide-pool dwellers, how shells are used, etc.—throughout the story. Watts also loves to catalog clues in his notebook. In fact, the first mystery that Shelby solves is that of Watts’ lost notebook. Young readers can watch Shelby investigate, solve, and explain her deductive process, all while learning to carefully examine all the details in each graphic panel. Once the missing shells are found, it’s “time for the hermit crab shuffle,” in which the members of a colony of hermit crabs all line up and trade up to larger homes. Final pages include “Earth-Saving Tips from Shelby & Watts,” such as taking pictures of shells instead of collecting them, eating seafood from sustainable sources, and cleaning up the beach. The seven chapters are of varying length, but with several one-panel pages and many pages with low word count, the book is shorter than it appears, which should be a confidence boost for young readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Models attention to detail and deductive reasoning in a fun beach setting, complete with interesting facts. (Graphic early reader/mystery. 6-9)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-20531-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
