Lovely but out of sync
Fourteen bird species chosen for their dramatic or unusual characteristics are illustrated and described in this album.
Each spread presents a full-bleed linocut print of the bird in question in its habitat, with a paragraph or two of detailed text describing such features as flight pattern, typical courtship behavior, plumage, migration, and feeding habits. The text includes fascinating facts about the birds, such as how the flamingo’s plumage varies with its diet, the way the bird of paradise shows off its plumage to its mate, the unusual vision of the common kingfisher, and how the toucan uses its enormous beak. Birds that travel vast distances are described, including the wandering albatross, which can cover more than 10,000 miles in a single journey, and the bar-tailed godwit, which flies more than 6,000 miles during migration. One of the most interesting birds is the rare kakapo from New Zealand, which uses its thoracic sac to make a booming sound to attract females. Togo’s linocut illustrations are beautifully composed, judiciously colored, and observant renderings of the birds and their habitats and help to give life to the factual text (produced in collaboration with the British Royal Society for the Protection of Birds). However, they seem mismatched to the fine-print, detailed text, looking too junior for the reading level.
Lovely but out of sync . (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0169-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
There’s nothing rotten about this book—it’s a keeper.
The discoveries that arise from our flattened fauna will amaze you!
Montgomery’s story—part memoir, part scientific overview—begins with a squashed snake and follows her as she learns more and more about the animals she finds run over on the side of the road. Animals explored range from snakes to coyotes and deer, and although some international animals are discussed, the primary focus remains on those squished Stateside. For all the literal blood and guts, the tone of the book is light and slightly irreverent, but it never mocks either the animals or the scientists and volunteers who work with roadkill. Footnotes abound to help explain the occasional tangent or help readers understand more complex issues that are alluded to in the text. O’Malley’s black-and-white illustrations are peppered throughout the text, sometimes illustrating a moment from the text, sometimes providing a visual description of an animal, tool, or related object. The icing on the cake is the wealth of backmatter, which is divided into three sections: “Simple Acts Save Lives,” which provides practical tips for readers on how they can make an ecological impact; an annotated bibliography that’s divided by chapter, allowing browsers to find out more info on their specific interests; and an index.
There’s nothing rotten about this book—it’s a keeper. (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-900-9
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
Debuting a new series, Krull presents a compelling argument that the great painter of the Renaissance was one of the West’s first real modern scientists. Into the stew of superstition that passed for scientific thought in medieval Europe was born Leonardo, illegitimate and therefore only very sketchily schooled, he grew up largely on his own, rambling around his family’s property and observing nature. The portrait that emerges is of a magpie mind: He studied and thought and wrote about very nearly everything. The breezy text draws heavily from Leonardo’s own writings, discussing his groundbreaking forays into anatomy, water management and flight, always propelled by a commitment to direct scientific observation. That Krull manages, in some 100-plus text pages, to present Leonardo’s scientific accomplishments while at the same time conveying a sense of the man himself—his probable homosexuality is presented frankly, as are his pacifism and the overriding opportunism that had him designing weapons of war for the Duke of Milan—is no mean feat and bodes well for the succeeding volumes in the series. (appendix, bibliography, Web sites, index) (Biography. 10-14)
Pub Date: July 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-670-05920-X
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2005
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