An attractive addition to natural-science shelves.
After a clear pronunciation guide on the title page, readers learn examples of antipodes on Earth—and a few respective animal inhabitants—and why they never share daylight hours.
Offering a clear definition of “antipodes,” the introductory double-page spread features a huge, stylized rendition of Earth in outer space, setting up the idea that there are “amazing animals” living in places that are exactly opposite each other on the globe. “Each creature has evolved and adapted to live in their own special place in the world.” The double-page spread that follows starts a pattern that holds for the next 10 page turns: There’s a small amount of information in graceful language (“The North Pole. Under the northern lights, polar bears roam by icy waves”); vivid, colorful, collagelike art across the top halves of the pages; and the unique fun of turning each spread upside down to access the art and text describing the right-side-up’s antipode. There is a small globe at dead center of each spread on which the relevant antipodes are indicated, but its location and hard-to-decipher land shapes detract from usefulness. The final pages clearly explain the planet’s rotation, revolution, and tilt—again accompanied by striking artwork. The endpapers offer additional delight, with labeled, colored-pencil renditions of animals that readers may (or may not) have noticed during their first read.
An attractive addition to natural-science shelves. (Informational picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-939547-49-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Creston
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
A sweet and endearing feathered migration.
A relationship between a Latina grandmother and her mixed-race granddaughter serves as the frame to depict the ruby-throated hummingbird migration pattern.
In Granny’s lap, a girl is encouraged to “keep still” as the intergenerational pair awaits the ruby-throated hummingbirds with bowls of water in their hands. But like the granddaughter, the tz’unun—“the word for hummingbird in several [Latin American] languages”—must soon fly north. Over the next several double-page spreads, readers follow the ruby-throated hummingbird’s migration pattern from Central America and Mexico through the United States all the way to Canada. Davies metaphorically reunites the granddaughter and grandmother when “a visitor from Granny’s garden” crosses paths with the girl in New York City. Ray provides delicately hashed lines in the illustrations that bring the hummingbirds’ erratic flight pattern to life as they travel north. The watercolor palette is injected with vibrancy by the addition of gold ink, mirroring the hummingbirds’ flashing feathers in the slants of light. The story is supplemented by notes on different pages with facts about the birds such as their nest size, diet, and flight schedule. In addition, a note about ruby-throated hummingbirds supplies readers with detailed information on how ornithologists study and keep track of these birds.
A sweet and endearing feathered migration. (bibliography, index) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0538-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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