Arnold revisits Mrs. Best’s elementary classroom (Hatching Chicks in Room 6, 2017) for this look at the life cycle of the painted lady butterfly.
Arnold uses the class’s study of butterflies to present readers with solid facts about these insects in both the main text and leaf-shaped fact boxes. Mrs. Best’s butterfly eggs come in a tube (she must have purchased them, though this is not addressed). The entire life cycle is both pictured and described in the next spread. The close-ups of the eggs in their different stages of hatching are sure to fascinate. On release day, each child gets to hold a butterfly that has crawled onto their hand. Though this book focuses on butterflies in a classroom, families could easily use this information to safely raise butterflies at home (several tips are given about keeping the insects alive and free from injury). The backmatter includes a page of answered questions about butterflies, a glossary, and a list of both online and text resources for finding further information. Arnold’s photos are a highlight, combining candid shots of the diverse students and their white teacher with pics of the insects, both in captivity and in nature. Labeled close-ups bring readers into the classroom and teach butterfly anatomy.
A solid look at the butterfly life cycle that will have students asking their own teachers to host caterpillars in their classrooms. (Informational picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: March 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-58089-894-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Jan. 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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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 27, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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The cadences of a familiar nursery rhyme introduce concerns about ocean garbage and what we, who made the mess, can do to help clean it up.
With the rhyme and meter of “The House That Jack Built,” Lord builds the problem of plastic waste in the oceans from the fish that must swim through it to a netted seal, a trapped turtle, and overflowing landfills before turning to remedies: cleaning beaches and bays, reducing waste, and protesting the use of fishing nets. Two pages of backmatter describe problems in more detail, while a third elaborates potential solutions; suggestions for individual action are provided as well. Blattman’s images begin with a racially diverse group of youngsters in a small boat in the center of a plastic trash gyre. The children, shown at different angles, bob spread by spread over trash-filled waters. To accompany the words, “Look at the mess that we made,” she adds a polluted city skyline and a container ship belching smoke to the scene. Finally, the dismayed young boaters reach a beach where a clean-up is in process. From their little skiff they help scoop up trash, rescue the turtle, and wave protest signs. The message is important, even vital in today’s world, but many caregivers and many environmentalists would eschew this doomful approach as a means of introducing environmental concerns to the early-elementary audience who might be drawn in by the nursery rhyme.
Well-intentioned but likely to overwhelm the intended readers and listeners. (map) (Informational picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-947277-14-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flashlight Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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