Wonderfully silly fun—but flawed.
A seahorse responds to the narrator’s school report on “an interesting animal.”
Young Cassandra’s report is hand-printed primary-grade–style in various angles on wide-lined paper and illustrated with pen, marker, and crayon. Even from the cover readers will recognize that the seahorse is highly offended. In his typed responses, pictured in thought balloons, readers see that he thinks of himself as “quite majestic,” nothing at all like a horse, an opossum with a prehensile tail, or a long-nosed anteater. There are more animal comparisons: Seahorses perform dances with their mates like blue-footed boobies, camouflage like octopuses, and growl like dogs. Finally readers get to what makes seahorses really different: “The DADDIES GIVE BIRTH!” The humor in this spread is especially appealing—the proud daddy’s pouch is depicted as a strapped-on tummy pack, and all his fry have names readers or their classmates might share. Finally, the writer explains why she likes seahorses. They’re “WEIRD,” and “BEING WEIRD IS COOL.” She concludes with a reminder of all the other animals mentioned and a last page of further facts. Following the author’s This Is a Sea Cow (2019), this is similarly engaging, but there’s a serious misstep: a glue-sniffing (or drinking?) duck-billed platypus illustrating “weird.” Better choices might be Jennifer Keats Curtis’ Seahorses, illustrated by Chad Wallace (2012), or Eric Carle’s Mister Seahorse (2004).
Wonderfully silly fun—but flawed. (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-8075-7860-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Another playful imagination-stretcher.
Markle invites children to picture themselves living in the homes of 11 wild animals.
As in previous entries in the series, McWilliam’s illustrations of a diverse cast of young people fancifully imitating wild creatures are paired with close-up photos of each animal in a like natural setting. The left side of one spread includes a photo of a black bear nestling in a cozy winter den, while the right side features an image of a human one cuddled up with a bear. On another spread, opposite a photo of honeybees tending to newly hatched offspring, a human “larva” lounges at ease in a honeycomb cell, game controller in hand, as insect attendants dish up goodies. A child with an eye patch reclines on an orb weaver spider’s web, while another wearing a head scarf constructs a castle in a subterranean chamber with help from mound-building termites. Markle adds simple remarks about each type of den, nest, or burrow and basic facts about its typical residents, then closes with a reassuring reminder to readers that they don’t have to live as animals do, because they will “always live where people live.” A select gallery of traditional homes, from igloo and yurt to mudhif, follows a final view of the young cast waving from a variety of differently styled windows.
Another playful imagination-stretcher. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781339049052
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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