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NATURE IN ART

Name: NATURE IN ART
Author: Anthea Peppin
ISBN: 1-56294-173-9

by Anthea Peppin ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 15, 1992

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One of four initial entries in the ``Millbrook Arts Library,'' a visually attractive series that combines reproductions of art from a wide variety of sources with a simple commentary designed to introduce many styles, materials, and subjects and to start young people on their own artistic endeavors. Here, nature provides not only subjects for realistic paintings but a source of textures, patterns, and designs for more imaginative styles, and even materials such as pigments. Peppin's text is brief and somewhat condescending, with textbook- style questions addressed to the reader. Captions could have been more complete—why not label the cochineal and vermilion? Which is which? And dates for the art would help put it in context. (Dates for the artists appear in the index, but few children will happen on them there.) The suggested projects are well integrated, but many will find the sample artwork dauntingly professional. Best are the splendid connections drawn among well- chosen works of art from many cultures and eras. Other volumes issued simultaneously are Peppin's People in Art and Places in Art, and Helen Williams's Stories in Art. The latter—with its substantial detail concerning content, iconography, and mood (plus an informative double spread on restoration)—is the strongest in a somewhat uneven but generally commendable series. Brief biographies of selected artists; index. (Nonfiction. 8-12)

Pub Date: March 15, 1992

ISBN: 1-56294-173-9

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Millbrook

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1992

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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CLUES TO THE UNIVERSE

by Christina Li ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 12, 2021

Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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WEATHER

by Seymour Simon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1993

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Remarking that ``nothing about the weather is very simple,'' Simon goes on to describe how the sun, atmosphere, earth's rotation, ground cover, altitude, pollution, and other factors influence it; briefly, he also tells how weather balloons gather information. Even for this outstanding author, it's a tough, complex topic, and he's not entirely successful in simplifying it; moreover, the import of the striking uncaptioned color photos here isn't always clear. One passage—``Cumulus clouds sometimes build up into towering masses called cumulus congestus, or swelling cumulus, which may turn into cumulonimbus clouds''—is superimposed on a blue-gray, cloud-covered landscape. But which kind of clouds are these? Another photo, in blue-black and white, shows what might be precipitation in the upper atmosphere, or rain falling on a darkened landscape, or...? Generally competent and certainly attractive, but not Simon's best. (Nonfiction. 10-12)