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WATER

Name: WATER
Author: Catherine Barr
ISBN: 978-1-5362-2886-1

HOW WE CAN PROTECT OUR FRESHWATER

by Catherine Barr ; illustrated by Christiane Engel ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2023

Confusing in spots and a bit dry for the top shelf but catches the wave of concern for an increasingly scarce resource.

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An earnest call to appreciate and conserve our planet’s precious fluid.

Along with describing water’s origins in Earth’s early history, tracing the ever flowing water cycle, and closing with suggestions for shrinking our “water footprint” by wasting less around the house, Barr surveys ways we both use and misuse fresh water—perceptively noting, for example, that dams turn it into a dandy source of renewable power but also often destroy natural habitats. She also promotes the benefits of piping clean water to dry settlements in “poorer countries,” specifically for the girls and women who are otherwise forced to carry it from remote sources. A claim that only a “tiny part” of the water we use is recycled is at best badly phrased, though (isn’t all water recycled?), and she confusingly uses green water to describe not algae pollution (the most common usage of the term) but water taken up by plants from the soil. She also delivers her lecture in generalizations that are less likely to motivate young readers than splashier treatments of the topic like Antonia Banyard and Paula Ayer’s Water Wow! (2016), illustrated by Belle Wuthrich. Still, the message is worth the urgency, and Engel’s bright artwork, which runs to expansive landscapes dotted with small images of wild flora and fauna or diverse human figures in both urban and country settings, shows what’s at stake. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Confusing in spots and a bit dry for the top shelf but catches the wave of concern for an increasingly scarce resource. (websites) (Informational picture book. 6-9)

Pub Date: March 21, 2023

ISBN: 978-1-5362-2886-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
THE COLORS OF NATURE
by Catherine Barr ; illustrated by Chaaya Prabhat

- BOOK REVIEW
WILDLIFE CROSSINGS
by Catherine Barr ; illustrated by Christiane Engel

- BOOK REVIEW
50 REASONS TO LOVE ANIMALS
by Catherine Barr ; illustrated by Hanako Clulow

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I AM GRAVITY

by Henry Herz ; illustrated by Mercè López ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 15, 2024

An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe.

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An introduction to gravity.

The book opens with the most iconic demonstration of gravity, an apple falling. Throughout, Herz tackles both huge concepts—how gravity compresses atoms to form stars and how black holes pull all kinds of matter toward them—and more concrete ones: how gravity allows you to jump up and then come back down to the ground. Gravity narrates in spare yet lyrical verse, explaining how it creates planets and compresses atoms and comparing itself to a hug. “My embrace is tight enough that you don’t float like a balloon, but loose enough that you can run and leap and play.” Gravity personifies itself at times: “I am stubborn—the bigger things are, the harder I pull.” Beautiful illustrations depict swirling planets and black holes alongside racially diverse children playing, running, and jumping, all thanks to gravity. Thorough backmatter discusses how Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity and explains Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. While at times Herz’s explanations may be a bit too technical for some readers, burgeoning scientists will be drawn in.

An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe. (Informational picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: April 15, 2024

ISBN: 9781668936849

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Tilbury House

Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
I AM LIGHT
by Henry Herz ; illustrated by Mercè López

- BOOK REVIEW
THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS
edited by Henry Herz

- BOOK REVIEW
WINK
edited by Henry Herz ; illustrated by Adam Gustavson

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IF POLAR BEARS DISAPPEARED

From the If Animals Disappeared series

by Lily Williams ; illustrated by Lily Williams ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 28, 2018

A solid addition to the climate-change canon for those interested in saving a fragile world.

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Dire consequences attend the unchecked melting of Arctic sea ice.

The more the ice melts, the more the Arctic climate changes. The more that air and ground temperatures rise, the more the frozen ecosystem’s inhabitants, including plants and insects, suffer from dwindling habitats; threats to food sources; and imbalances in feeding, breeding, and migration patterns. Solid information is packed into this brief work that lucidly raises the alarm for young readers, with each spread capturing the thrilling, chilling north in rich, dramatic blue swathes of seawater set off by icy glaciers and snowdrifts. Child-friendly, occasionally cluttered paintings, some with labels, highlight polar bears and their Arctic neighbors; a spread of vignettes illustrates how changes to plant life affect wildlife. One labeled spread explains all: As seawater warms, it absorbs sunlight, thus heating more water and melting more ice. One poignant spread depicts a bewildered polar bear mom, eyeing readers and flanked by her twin cubs, drifting on a shrinking ice floe. Two human children, one brown-skinned and one pale, occasionally appear in the illustrations as well. The book ends on a hopeful note, reassuring youngsters that “we still have time to save polar bears and slow the loss of Arctic ice.” A note in the backmatter offers conservation tips.

A solid addition to the climate-change canon for those interested in saving a fragile world. (author’s note, bibliography, additional sources) (Informational picture book. 6-9)