Mostly useful as a historical snapshot of the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A general look at the Covid-19 pandemic and response from the first cases through early 2021.
Despite the title, the primary focus here is on the global pandemic that began in late 2019 rather than the science of this class of viruses. Medical professional Goldsmith opens with an account of Dr. Li Wenliang’s realization in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, that he was seeing patients with a respiratory virus similar to SARS. A discussion of the comparative construction of bacteria and viruses offers little to help readers understand how viruses work, and the explanation of the difference between RNA and DNA viruses is cursory. The SARS, MERS, and HIV viruses are also described. Goldsmith addresses the practice of mask-wearing, the global spread of Covid, anti-Asian attacks, and why the pandemic disproportionately affected people of color in the U.S. Long-haul Covid is briefly touched upon. Due to the timing of the book, information about vaccines and their efficacy rates in preventing severe illness and death as well as about Covid variants is, not surprisingly, already incomplete. This condensed account of how the pandemic escalated and what the responses—public health, governmental, social, and political—looked like in the U.S. and around the world throughout 2020 already feels dated and largely ends with the announcement of President Joe Biden’s pandemic strategy in January 2021.
Mostly useful as a historical snapshot of the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. (glossary, source notes, bibliography, further information) (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-72842-888-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Twenty-First Century/Lerner
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
Congolese-American Sophie makes a harrowing trek through a war-torn jungle to protect a young bonobo.
On her way to spend the summer at the bonobo sanctuary her mother runs, 14-year-old Sophie rescues a sickly baby bonobo from a trafficker. Though her Congolese mother is not pleased Sophie paid for the ape, she is proud that Sophie works to bond with Otto, the baby. A week before Sophie's to return home to her father in Miami, her mother must take advantage
of a charter flight to relocate some apes, and she leaves Sophie with Otto and the sanctuary workers. War breaks out, and after missing a U.N. flight out, Sophie must hide herself and Otto from violent militants and starving villagers. Unable to take Otto out of the country, she decides finding her mother hundreds of miles to the north is her only choice. Schrefer jumps from his usual teen suspense to craft this well-researched tale of jungle survival set during a fictional conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Realistic characters (ape and human) deal with disturbing situations described in graphic, but never gratuitous detail. The lessons Sophie learns about her childhood home, love and what it means to be endangered will resonate with readers.
Even if some hairbreadth escapes test credulity, this is a great next read for fans of our nearest ape cousins or survival adventure. (map, author's note, author Q&A) (Adventure. 12-16)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-16576-1
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 2, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2012
Best for nostalgic Scarry fans.
Culling from vintage Golden Books, this work repurposes Richard Scarry’s illustrations as life lessons.
Standing in for the humans whose roles they embody, genial animals engage in domestic chores, flounder through cheerfully chaotic adventures, and weather comical disasters. Members of a bunny family make breakfast, get dressed, and brush their teeth (“Greet the morning with joy!”), a warthog tackles bedhead, and an earthworm makes a bed. The art lightens the effect of many vague, imperative instructions (“Be helpful!”, “Save your money”), while the ensemble scenes of merrymaking and mayhem show Scarry at his best. Although the animal antics add interest to the bland, greeting-card platitudes (“Discover your own style,” “Appreciate beauty, and fill your life with art!”), some of the messaging feels contradictory. Two impeccably attired bunnies illustrate “Dress to impress!” Meanwhile, on a tropical beach, monkeys, jaguars, a crocodile, a toucan, a sloth, an ostrich, an anteater, and others “dance like no one is watching, even when they are.” Most of the selected art dates from the 1950s to the 1970s, and some of the messaging reflects the era. “Don’t be too hard on yourself” accompanies a dismayed, rotund pig on bathroom scales, bursting out of its pajamas, while slender animals on the facing page embody healthful exercise. (“Keep fit!”, “Have you tried yoga?”). The adult male-presenting figures often appear in active, public, or professional roles, while most of the adult female-presenting characters are caregivers or passive recipients of male attention.
Best for nostalgic Scarry fans. (Self-help. 12-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2026
ISBN: 9798217125319
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Golden Books/Random
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
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