Concise and still thorough, this is a solid addition to a wide-ranging and ecologically conscious series.
A passionate environmentalist explains why oceans are amazing and what young readers can do to keep them that way.
In her first book for young readers, novelist and biologist Eriksson connects her audience to the oceans around the world, describes current threats, suggests general ways to help, and offers specific examples of ways to “be an ocean hero.” The book’s four short chapters feature frequent subheadings, sidebars—her personal connections (labeled “My Marine Life”); paragraphs of “Ocean Facts”; and invitations for personal involvement (labeled “Make a Splash!”)—and small photographs. The author and publisher have made an effort to include images of people from around the world, including First Nations neighbors harvesting clams in front of the writer’s waterfront home on Thetis Island in British Columbia. (The author herself is white.) Opening with quotations from Dr. Sylvia Earle and ecologist Barry Commoner, she makes clear the importance of water in human lives. Her examples of ocean overload are sobering, but she concludes her list of challenges with the reminder that “Change = Opportunity” and devotes more than half her pages to appropriate actions, many within reach of kids, toward ocean rescue. For readers old enough to cope with the bad news, the range of suggestions will be welcome. Her organization makes sense, and the exposition is clear and often directly addressed to the reader.
Concise and still thorough, this is a solid addition to a wide-ranging and ecologically conscious series. (resources, glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 9-14)Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1586-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
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
Hot on the heels of the well-received Leonardo da Vinci (2005) comes another agreeably chatty entry in the Giants of Science series. Here the pioneering physicist is revealed as undeniably brilliant, but also cantankerous, mean-spirited, paranoid and possibly depressive. Newton’s youth and annus mirabilis receive respectful treatment, the solitude enforced by family estrangement and then the plague seen as critical to the development of his thoughtful, methodical approach. His subsequent squabbles with the rest of the scientific community—he refrained from publishing one treatise until his rival was dead—further support the image of Newton as a scientific lone wolf. Krull’s colloquial treatment sketches Newton’s advances in clearly understandable terms without bogging the text down with detailed explanations. A final chapter on “His Impact” places him squarely in the pantheon of great thinkers, arguing that both his insistence on the scientific method and his theories of physics have informed all subsequent scientific thought. A bibliography, web site and index round out the volume; the lack of detail on the use of sources is regrettable in an otherwise solid offering for middle-grade students. (Biography. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-670-05921-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2006
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