A primer on flight that doesn’t quite take off.
Another venture in the Science Makes It Work series, this time exploring the mechanics of flight.
Gracie and Victor are paper-airplane aficionados, so much so that their teacher asks them to have a paper-airplane booth at the school’s Fun Fair. But Victor accidentally breaks his foot and misses the fair. Gracie and their friends decide to cheer him up with well wishes written on a fleet of paper airplanes that will soar into his backyard. But first, they need to figure out how to make the best airplane that will fly straight and far. They set up an experiment and learn about drag, thrust, lift, and weight. Using leftover Fun Fair flyers (reuse is appreciated), the group creates a multitude of colorful, carefully crafted planes that fly their cheery messages directly to Victor. The plot is slight, merely a vehicle to introduce the technical aspects of flight. But for young readers curious about flight, it is a start. Readers may wish to follow the characters’ examples and make their own airplanes, but there are no folding instructions other than a basic design on a small computer screen on one of the spreads. Rosa’s illustrations are pedestrian but cheery. Gracie is light-skinned, Victor is brown-skinned, and their friends are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A primer on flight that doesn’t quite take off. (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-8075-7273-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Earnest and silly by turns, it doesn’t quite capture the attention or the imagination, although surely its heart is in the...
Rhymed couplets convey the story of a girl who likes to build things but is shy about it. Neither the poetry nor Rosie’s projects always work well.
Rosie picks up trash and oddments where she finds them, stashing them in her attic room to work on at night. Once, she made a hat for her favorite zookeeper uncle to keep pythons away, and he laughed so hard that she never made anything publicly again. But when her great-great-aunt Rose comes to visit and reminds Rosie of her own past building airplanes, she expresses her regret that she still has not had the chance to fly. Great-great-aunt Rose is visibly modeled on Rosie the Riveter, the iconic, red-bandanna–wearing poster woman from World War II. Rosie decides to build a flying machine and does so (it’s a heli-o-cheese-copter), but it fails. She’s just about to swear off making stuff forever when Aunt Rose congratulates her on her failure; now she can go on to try again. Rosie wears her hair swooped over one eye (just like great-great-aunt Rose), and other figures have exaggerated hairdos, tiny feet and elongated or greatly rounded bodies. The detritus of Rosie’s collections is fascinating, from broken dolls and stuffed animals to nails, tools, pencils, old lamps and possibly an erector set. And cheddar-cheese spray.
Earnest and silly by turns, it doesn’t quite capture the attention or the imagination, although surely its heart is in the right place. (historical note) (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4197-0845-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A welcome can-do story about environmental activism.
When Emmy and Callum hear a bird hit their window, they are worried that it might be hurt.
The bird flies away unscathed, but it gets Emmy and Callum thinking about what other parts of their home might be dangerous for birds—and what they can do to make it less so. With the help of their mother, they begin by putting decals on their windows, filling the bird feeder, and letting flowers go to seed. As the year progresses, they learn more about what birds need at different times of the year. In the fall, when birds migrate, Emmy and Callum turn off the disorienting porch lights and fill their jack-o’-lantern with healthy birdseed. In the winter, when snow falls, they build a shelter of sticks. Soon Emmy and Callum decide they want to do more, eventually involving the whole neighborhood in transforming the area into a certified wildlife habitat. As narrated by Callum, this book is an engaging guide to environmental activism. Emmy and Callum’s gradual shift from individual actions to community organizing feels organic and doable: Readers can accomplish almost all of the activities they model. (More information is provided in the backmatter, along with resources.) At times the prose gets clunky, but generally the text is clear and fun to read aloud. The gentle, pastel-hued illustrations feature a brown-skinned family and neatly complement the earnest and gentle text.
A welcome can-do story about environmental activism. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8075-2753-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
