A solid starting point for learning about birds.
A plethora of facts to whet bird-watchers’ appetites.
From defining a bird and investigating migration to exploring woodpeckers’ habits (and tongues!), the process of gliding, why geese fly in a V and birds sing, and how birds make their nests, this is a pretty wide-ranging look at bird behavior. The format is a mixture of cartoons, speech bubbles, sticky notes, and taped-in notes and diagrams that help break up the lengthier text in between and explain the trickier science such as thermals. The author’s tongue is firmly in cheek, asking, for instance, if woodpeckers use game cameras to find insects in a tree. The illustrations pick up on this, but many times the fictions in the pictures are not pointed out as such. For example, migrating birds are pictured with packed bags, and chaffinches, which use spiderwebs in their nest building, are shown offering their thanks to a spider. The pages aren’t always arranged according to specific topics, which can be confusing. A page featuring a large sticky note about waterbirds and seabirds includes info about owls and long-tailed tits (which aren’t even pictured). The humorous cartoons are sure to attract kids’ interest, though, and there are many amazing facts that kids can pull out to impress. Backmatter includes four profiles of national birds (U.S., India, New Zealand, and Nigeria) and thumbnails of 12 other nations’ national birds, all of which feature beautiful photos. Humans in the art are diverse.
A solid starting point for learning about birds. (make your own bird feeder) (Nonfiction. 5-10)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 9781486725649
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Flowerpot Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
A gleeful game for budding naturalists.
Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.
In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781728271170
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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
© 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.
