A thorough breakdown of all things chickens—for beginners.
From Italy, an illustrated introduction to the wonderful world of chickens.
While it’s not a practical manual for the keeping of chickens, authors Sandri and Giubbilini provide a comprehensive and charming introduction to some of humanity’s feathered friends, complete with 71 fully illustrated pages of all things chicken and egg, courtesy of illustrator Pintonato. The trio takes readers through the 5,000-year history of the chicken-human relationship, the spectrum of breeds alive today, and even the question of “the chicken and the egg.” Beginning with advice for young readers on how to differentiate between (adult) hens and roosters and identify different types and colorations and feathers and a survey of the inner and outer anatomy of a chicken, the book is a cheerful, if not scientific, overview for curious kids. More-advanced readers may find it lacking in certain areas. In one unnerving illustration, various breeds of chicken are placed next to a “three-year-old boy” with the proportions of a grown man—making the Jersey giant seem giant, indeed. And notably, while an entire section on eggs takes readers through the different parts, colors, and sizes, the various ways eggs are used in kitchens around the world are illustrated—but not explained—and different cultures’ approaches to eating chickens for meat are completely absent. There is neither bibliography nor source notes of any kind.
A thorough breakdown of all things chickens—for beginners. (Nonfiction. 6-10)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-61689-908-0
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.
This book is buzzing with trivia.
Follow a swarm of bees as they leave a beekeeper’s apiary in search of a new home. As the scout bees traverse the fields, readers are provided with a potpourri of facts and statements about bees. The information is scattered—much like the scout bees—and as a result, both the nominal plot and informational content are tissue-thin. There are some interesting facts throughout the book, but many pieces of trivia are too, well trivial, to prove useful. For example, as the bees travel, readers learn that “onion flowers are round and fluffy” and “fennel is a plant that is used in cooking.” Other facts are oversimplified and as a result are not accurate. For example, monofloral honey is defined as “made by bees who visit just one kind of flower” with no acknowledgment of the fact that bees may range widely, and swarm activity is described as a springtime event, when it can also occur in summer and early fall. The information in the book, such as species identification and measurement units, is directed toward British readers. The flat, thin-lined artwork does little to enhance the story, but an “I spy” game challenging readers to find a specific bee throughout is amusing.
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere. (Informational picture book. 8-10)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-500-65265-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More thoughtful, sometimes exhilarating encounters with nature.
In a new entry in the Over and Under series, a paddleboarder glimpses humpback whales leaping, floats over a populous kelp forest, and explores life on a beach and in a tide pool.
In this tale inspired by Messner’s experiences in Monterey Bay in California, a young tan-skinned narrator, along with their light-skinned mom and tan-skinned dad, observes in quiet, lyrical language sights and sounds above and below the sea’s serene surface. Switching perspectives and angles of view and often leaving the family’s red paddleboards just tiny dots bobbing on distant swells, Neal’s broad seascapes depict in precise detail bat stars and anchovies, kelp bass, and sea otters going about their business amid rocky formations and the swaying fronds of kelp…and, further out, graceful moon jellies and—thrillingly—massive whales in open waters beneath gliding pelicans and other shorebirds. After returning to the beach at day’s end to search for shells and to spot anemones and decorator crabs, the child ends with nighttime dreams of stars in the sky meeting stars in the sea. Appended nature notes on kelp and 21 other types of sealife fill in details about patterns and relationships in this rich ecosystem. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
More thoughtful, sometimes exhilarating encounters with nature. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-79720-347-8
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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