Alluring.
Full-color photographs pair with sparse but poetic text to describe the fog and offer the basic science behind it.
Words set in a spindly typeface called QuickRest appear in different ink colors, contrasting well at all times against full-bleed art. The initial double-spread page says, “Fog rolls in, damp and pale.” That is followed by two coordinated photographs on the next spread: “A cloud, ground level, / hugs stone / and snail.” The text is simple, accessible, and graceful throughout, always with a pleasant rhythm and sometimes rhyming. There is gentle humor, as in an apt reference to the kind of bone-chilling fog that appears to be affecting a hunched-over water bird: “Dewy. Cold stewy.” About halfway in, the text—still maintaining its cadence—switches from sensory descriptions of fog’s presence to elementary explanations of how warm, moist air cools to create fog, presenting examples of environments where that often occurs. The final pages contain a bit more science and plenty more lyricism. The text is complemented artfully with stunning, full-bleed photographs from several states in the U.S. as well as the countries of Greenland and Panama. An abundance of natural beauty is seen in every spread: from spider webs to deer; from tide pools to icebergs. Aside from one small shot of birds on a wire, there are no images of people or human-made objects. The effect—whether read silently or aloud—is mesmerizing and reverent. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Alluring. (further facts) (Informational picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3760-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
A good choice for a late fall storytime.
Animal behaviors change as they prepare to face the winter.
Migrate, hibernate, or tolerate. With smooth rhymes and jaunty illustrations, Salas and Gévry introduce three strategies animals use for coping with winter cold. The author’s long experience in imparting information to young readers is evident in her selection of familiar animals and in her presentation. Spread by spread she introduces her examples, preparing in fall and surviving in winter. She describes two types of migration: Hummingbirds and monarchs fly, and blue whales travel to the warmth of the south; earthworms burrow deeper into the earth. Without using technical words, she introduces four forms of hibernation—chipmunks nap and snack; bears mainly sleep; Northern wood frogs become an “icy pop,” frozen until spring; and normally solitary garter snakes snuggle together in huge masses. Those who can tolerate the winter still change behavior. Mice store food and travel in tunnels under the snow; moose grow a warmer kind of fur; the red fox dives into the snow to catch small mammals (like those mice); and humans put on warm clothes and play. The animals in the soft pastel illustrations are recognizable, more cuddly than realistic, and quite appealing; their habitats are stylized. The humans represent varied ethnicities. Each page includes two levels of text, and there’s further information in the extensive backmatter. Pair with Joyce Sidman and Rick Allen’s Winter Bees (2014).
A good choice for a late fall storytime. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5415-2900-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
Bruce Goldstone’s Awesome Autumn (2012) is still the gold standard.
Rotner follows Hello Spring (2017) with this salute to the fall season.
Name a change seen in northern climes in fall, and Rotner likely covers it here, from plants, trees, and animals to the food we harvest: seeds are spread, the days grow shorter and cooler, the leaves change and fall (and are raked up and jumped in), some animals migrate, and many families celebrate Halloween and Thanksgiving. As in the previous book, the photographs (presented in a variety of sizes and layouts, all clean) are the stars here, displaying both the myriad changes of the season and a multicultural array of children enjoying the outdoors in fall. These are set against white backgrounds that make the reddish-orange print pop. The text itself uses short sentences and some solid vocabulary (though “deep sleep” is used instead of “hibernate”) to teach readers the markers of autumn, though in the quest for simplicity, Rotner sacrifices some truth. In several cases, the addition of just a few words would have made the following oversimplified statements reflect reality: “Birds grow more feathers”; “Cranberries float and turn red.” Also, Rotner includes the statement “Bees store extra honey in their hives” on a page about animals going into deep sleep, implying that honeybees hibernate, which is false.
Bruce Goldstone’s Awesome Autumn (2012) is still the gold standard. (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3869-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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