A winning combination of gross-out appeal and scientific information that will have kids giggling and learning.
A raucously entertaining exploration of gauche behaviors from the animal kingdom.
Stiefel combines humor with scientific insight to showcase creatures whose survival strategies—among them the howler monkey’s screech and the camel’s habit of spitting—happen to align with behaviors human parents generally try to discourage. The book’s smart design breaks down information into easily digestible sections; readers can dive into specific chapters such as “Gas Passers” or “Barfers” without reading cover to cover, making the work perfect for repeat browsing. Each animal profile features helpful text boxes with key details like size, range, habitat, and conservation status, allowing readers to quickly grasp essential facts. Oliver’s colorful, cartoon-style illustrations complement the irreverent tone while accurately depicting each animal’s distinctive features. The engaging, language-rich content reveals genuinely interesting information; for example, Pacific herring communicate through “Fast Repetitive Tics, or FRTs,” and animals such as mice, rabbits, and guinea pigs “feast on their own feces (or dine on their own dung, or gorge on their own guano…).” The book’s greatest strength lies in its interviews with scientists, including biochemist Antonio Cerullo and shark scientist Yakira Herskowitz. These conversations don’t just explain animal behaviors—they reveal the diverse career paths in animal science while demonstrating how scientists think and work. Connections to human behavior feel natural and help readers understand that many “rude” biological functions serve important purposes across species.
A winning combination of gross-out appeal and scientific information that will have kids giggling and learning. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781454956440
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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
Contentwise, an arbitrary assortment…but sure to draw fans of comics, of science, or of both.
Flash, Batman, and other characters from the DC Comics universe tackle supervillains and STEM-related topics and sometimes, both.
Credited to 20 writers and illustrators in various combinations, the 10 episodes invite readers to tag along as Mera and Aquaman visit oceanic zones from epipelagic to hadalpelagic; Supergirl helps a young scholar pick a science-project topic by taking her on a tour of the solar system; and Swamp Thing lends Poison Ivy a hand to describe how DNA works (later joining Swamp Kid to scuttle a climate-altering scheme by Arcane). In other episodes, various costumed creations explain the ins and outs of diverse large- and small-scale phenomena, including electricity, atomic structure, forensic techniques, 3-D printing, and the lactate threshold. Presumably on the supposition that the characters will be more familiar to readers than the science, the minilectures tend to start from simple basics, but the figures are mostly both redrawn to look more childlike than in the comics and identified only in passing. Drawing styles and page designs differ from chapter to chapter but not enough to interrupt overall visual unity and flow—and the cast is sufficiently diverse to include roles for superheroes (and villains) of color like Cyborg, Kid Flash, and the Latina Green Lantern, Jessica Cruz. Appended lists of websites and science-based YouTube channels, plus instructions for homespun activities related to each episode, point inspired STEM-winders toward further discoveries.
Contentwise, an arbitrary assortment…but sure to draw fans of comics, of science, or of both. (Graphic nonfiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77950-382-4
Page Count: 160
Publisher: DC
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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