Fresh, lively, funny, and very, very informative.
Insects: the why, what, where, and how.
Nearly every page of this volume has a fabulous fact or story to relate. The tone is informatively jocular, with a waggishness sure to appeal to middle-grade readers but content sophisticated enough to intrigue and educate teens. In addition to relaying scientific information on fascinating insect behavior (fire beetles lay their eggs in the midst of forest fires) and physiology (a cockroach can live without its head for 168 hours), the author relays her own insect adventures. She gleefully embarks on an experiment to observe Madagascar hissing cockroaches—a bit of curiosity that gets out of hand—and shares her phobia of grasshoppers, thereby tacitly giving readers permission to be skeeved out by insects while still being interested in them. As entertaining as these stories are, scientific research is the foundation of this superb book. It explores insects’ vital role as pollinators, describes their potential as human food, hilariously relates their important role in decomposing dead things, and much more. The examination of the human-caused sixth extinction (as well as a bit about the previous five) and what that means for insects and people strikes a more somber note. Occasional sprinkles of appealing, anthropomorphic, black-and-white insect illustrations add fun visual interest and will encourage readers to look up photos to receive the full effect.
Fresh, lively, funny, and very, very informative. (reading list, works cited, index) (Nonfiction. 10-18)Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-80103-6
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
This lively look at escapades of daring men—and a surprising number of women—who risked their lives flying in balloons will appeal to adventure, history and science buffs—and perhaps steampunk fans as well. Each of the nine chapters, which are chronologically arranged, focuses on an exciting story, starting with the first confirmed human balloon flight in 1783, which landed safely, and ending with Dolly Shepherd, a young British woman in the early 1900s who parachuted out of balloons, hanging onto a trapeze. It recounts longest flights and highest ones, flights across water and to far-off points, some of which ended in death. An accidental balloon flight in 1858 of an eight-year-old girl and her younger brother, both of whom survived the 13-hour journey, will especially intrigue readers and lends itself well to booktalking. The conversational narrative, which often refers to the adventurers’ childhoods, incorporates ample quotes and anecdotes as well as explanations of such topics as buoyancy, hydrogen and altitude sickness. Useful captions accompany the many full-color illustrations of artwork and photographs. (notes, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-374-37014-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2010
This survey of body systems tries too hard for a broad audience, mixing paragraphs of lines like, “Without bones we would just be bags of goop,” printed in slightly larger type, with brief but specific discussions of osteoblasts, myofibrils, peristalsis and like parts and functions. Seven single or double gatefolds allow the many simple, brightly painted illustrations space to range from thumbnail size to forearm-length. Many of the visuals offer inside and outside views of a multicultural cast—of children, by and large, though the sexual organs are shown on headless trunks and the final picture provides a peek inside a pregnant mother. Even if younger readers don’t stumble over the vocabulary while older ones reject the art as babyish, this isn’t going to make the top shelf; information is presented in a scattershot way, the text and pictures don’t consistently correspond—three muscles needed to kick a soccer ball are named but not depicted, for instance, and an entire tongue is labeled “taste bud”—and the closing resource list is both print only and partly adult. (glossary, bibliography, further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4027-7091-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2010
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