by Colleen Carroll ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2019
A great addition to the visual-literacy library for young children.
In this revised edition of one book in a series entitled How Artists See, Carroll has selected an eclectic collection of 23 paintings, sculptures, and artifacts by artists ancient and modern from many different cultures.
Each artwork is depicted on one page or a double-page spread, frequently alongside a detail from the larger work. The book presents depictions of animals by varied artists: Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo, Albrecht Dürer, Kishi Ganku, Robert Bateman, Henri Matisse, Roy Liechtenstein, Alexander Calder, Frank Gehry, John James Audubon, Tamás Galambos, Georgia O’Keeffe, Ana Maria Pacheco, Simon Stålenhag, Audrey Weber, Crisp, Georges De Groot, and Marie Sybilla Merian as well as art from cave paintings in France, a mosaic from Pompeii, an ancient Greek coin, a Chiriquí frog pendant, and a Kuba carved wood crocodile. Carroll’s prose is simple but lively: engaging, questioning, sometimes humorous, often invoking sensory responses. As she remarks in a closing note, “The questions…are open-ended, with no right or wrong answers—they are meant to encourage children to look critically and ask thought-provoking questions of their own.” This book would provide an excellent jumping-off point for a teacher or parent to encourage children to engage with art, to spark creativity, and to build visual-literacy skills. Biographical notes and resources for each artist appear in the backmatter. Companion title How Artists See Families publishes simultaneously.
A great addition to the visual-literacy library for young children. (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7892-1348-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Abbeville Kids
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2019
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by Joanna Rzezak ; illustrated by Joanna Rzezak ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 18, 2021
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
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by Kate Messner ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2022
More thoughtful, sometimes exhilarating encounters with nature.
In a new entry in the Over and Under series, a paddleboarder glimpses humpback whales leaping, floats over a populous kelp forest, and explores life on a beach and in a tide pool.
In this tale inspired by Messner’s experiences in Monterey Bay in California, a young tan-skinned narrator, along with their light-skinned mom and tan-skinned dad, observes in quiet, lyrical language sights and sounds above and below the sea’s serene surface. Switching perspectives and angles of view and often leaving the family’s red paddleboards just tiny dots bobbing on distant swells, Neal’s broad seascapes depict in precise detail bat stars and anchovies, kelp bass, and sea otters going about their business amid rocky formations and the swaying fronds of kelp…and, further out, graceful moon jellies and—thrillingly—massive whales in open waters beneath gliding pelicans and other shorebirds. After returning to the beach at day’s end to search for shells and to spot anemones and decorator crabs, the child ends with nighttime dreams of stars in the sky meeting stars in the sea. Appended nature notes on kelp and 21 other types of sealife fill in details about patterns and relationships in this rich ecosystem. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
More thoughtful, sometimes exhilarating encounters with nature. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-79720-347-8
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
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