An attractive package that will intrigue and enlighten readers.
Say hello to some peculiar plants.
From the Venus flytrap to the flying-duck orchid, McCallum Staats uses descriptions of very large, very poisonous, very smelly, and very strange flora as jumping-off points to introduce basic botanical concepts. A profile of the Bolivian water lily, for instance, segues into an explanation of simple vs. compound leaves. An entry on the giant sequoia is accompanied by discussions of dendrochronology (tree aging) and coniferous vs. deciduous trees, while the profile on the sandbox tree leads to an explanation of the differences among thorns, spines, and prickles. These smoothly written, chatty entries cover a great deal of material, such as scientific names and details about related plants. Though the plants come from all over the world, McCallum Staats often mentions more familiar relatives. (The sandbox tree, for example, is related to the poinsettia.) Ingram includes both lush, striking illustrations of the plants as well as diagrams and close-ups of individual elements, such as the reproductive parts of a flower. Most similar books emphasize various botanical concepts; this clever reversal spotlights the extraordinary examples the writer has chosen, conveying plenty of general information while also wowing young readers.
An attractive package that will intrigue and enlighten readers. (glossary, source notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 9-14)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781536232837
Page Count: 144
Publisher: MIT Kids Press/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Lecture-y toward the end, but the scary message is delivered with wrenching, dramatic urgency.
In parallel narratives, four young people simultaneously experience the harrowing effects of climate change.
If terrifying readers is an effective way to spur them to take the climate crisis seriously, Gratz does an admirable job, as he plunges his middle schoolers into desperate, life-threatening straits in three wildly dangerous scenarios. For Akira Kristiansen, a peaceful visit to a treasured grove of Sierra Nevada giant sequoias turns into a frantic scramble to outrace a roaring megafire. In Churchill, Manitoba, eighth grade dudes Owen Mackenzie, a White boy, and George Gruyère (Mushkegowuk) are viciously mauled and then stalked by polar bears. At the same time, Puerto Rican Florida resident Natalie Torres is whirled off in the storm surge when a Category 5 hurricane hits Miami. Along with acknowledging in his afterword that the specific incidents portrayed are fictional but are inspired by actual events happening around the world, not just in North America, the author pulls his characters—dedicated climate activists all in the wake of their narrow escapes from death—together to deliver speeches at an international climate rally at the end. “It’s your world,” Gratz finishes in his author’s note, “your future. It’s up to you to decide what you want that future world to look like, and what you can do to make it happen.”
Lecture-y toward the end, but the scary message is delivered with wrenching, dramatic urgency. (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-73567-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
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