by Claire Eamer & illustrated by Sa Boothroyd ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2012
Delicious and nutritious.
A week of lunches provides the menu for this exploration of food history and food science—from brown-bag specials to a perfect picnic.
“[E]verything’s interesting if you take the time to learn about it,” says the cooking teacher, who challenges his students to keep a record of their lunches and research their backgrounds. This engaging effort proves his point. Eamer captures readers' attention with a satisfyingly gross account of a pair of Yukon travelers who survived on boiled and roasted sealskin-and–walrus-hide boots. After that, ham sandwiches, macaroni, hot dogs, egg salad, pizza, peanut-butter–and-banana spirals and fried chicken seem comfortingly familiar. The lunches described are usually well-balanced. From each, the author has chosen a selection of ingredients, providing examples of their use in history and offering appropriate science connections. Most topics are covered in a single page, enhanced by humorous, cartoon-styled drawings reminiscent of Quentin Blake, lively layout and plenty of color. “Lunch laughs”—corny jokes—add to the entertainment. The authorial tone is light, but there is a surprising amount of nourishment here. Ten favorite food facts conclude the narrative, but there are also suggestions for further reading, an extensive bibliography and even an index, making this useful for research as well.
Delicious and nutritious. (Nonfiction. 9-15)Pub Date: May 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-55451-393-2
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
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by Jonah Winter ; illustrated by Jeanette Winter ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2020
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care.
In 1977, the oil carrier Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil into a formerly pristine Alaskan ocean inlet, killing millions of birds, animals, and fish. Despite a cleanup, crude oil is still there.
The Winters foretold the destructive powers of the atomic bomb allusively in The Secret Project (2017), leaving the actuality to the backmatter. They make no such accommodations to young audiences in this disturbing book. From the dark front cover, on which oily blobs conceal a seabird, to the rescuer’s sad face on the back, the mother-son team emphasizes the disaster. A relatively easy-to-read and poetically heightened text introduces the situation. Oil is pumped from the Earth “all day long, all night long, / day after day, year after year” in “what had been unspoiled land, home to Native people // and thousands of caribou.” The scale of extraction is huge: There’s “a giant pipeline” leading to “enormous ships.” Then, crash. Rivers of oil gush out over three full-bleed wordless pages. Subsequent scenes show rocks, seabirds, and sea otters covered with oil. Finally, 30 years later, animals have returned to a cheerful scene. “But if you lift a rock… // oil / seeps / up.” For an adult reader, this is heartbreaking. How much more difficult might this be for an animal-loving child?
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3077-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
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by Denise Long ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2011
A splendid volume for young adventurers.
Based on her work with middle-school students, Long offers lessons on how to stay healthy and out of trouble while awaiting rescue, the same lessons taught to adults in her survival classes.
Her matter-of-fact, no-nonsense tone will play well with young readers, and the clear writing style is appropriate to the content. The engaging guide covers everything from building shelters to avoiding pigs and javelinas. With subjects like kissing bugs, scorpions, snow blindness and “How going to the bathroom can attract bears and mountain lions,” the volume invites browsing as much as studying. The information offered is sometimes obvious: “If you find yourself facing an alligator, get away from it”; sometime humorous: Raccoons will “fight with your dog, steal all your food, then climb up a tree and call you bad names in raccoon language”; and sometimes not comforting: “When alligators attack on land, they usually make one grab at you; if they miss, you are usually safe.” But when survival is at stake, the more information the better, especially when leavened with some wit. An excellent bibliography will lead young readers to a host of fascinating websites, and 150 clipart-style line drawings complement the text.
A splendid volume for young adventurers. (index not seen) (Nonfiction. 9-14)Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-56976-708-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
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