by Cruschiform ; illustrated by Cruschiform ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 4, 2014
Despite its limited scope, both a relatively useful reference and a gee-whiz compendium of cool speed facts.
This retro-designed information book has a simple intention: to compare things that go at different speeds.
The left-hand page of each spread displays a speed in large type, and on each facing page, animals and vehicles that travel at that speed are illustrated. The speeds go up incrementally from 0.3 kph (sea horse and Galápagos tortoise) to 100,000 kph (shooting star). (English conversions are provided in smaller type.) The “wow” factor is predictably large, and animals often come off as well or better than machines; the humble swift can fly at 200 kph, the same speed as an MD500 helicopter, and a frigate bird can fly as fast as a Formula 1 race car (350 kph). Readers hungry for more than the bare-bones information offered in the spreads can consult the backmatter, which comprises technical descriptions of each vehicle or animal described. There are many nifty factoids that kids will savor, such as the fact that the Earth spins at a mind-blowing average speed of 1,670 kph! The book's French origins are evident; along with the metric units, some vehicles may be unfamiliar to American readers. Nevertheless, the strong, bright graphics and clean lines make the information readily accessible and easy for young children to grasp.
Despite its limited scope, both a relatively useful reference and a gee-whiz compendium of cool speed facts. (Informational picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1338-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Sept. 2, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2014
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by Rie Neal ; illustrated by Talitha Shipman ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 5, 2022
An exuberant portrayal of a girl with hearing restrictions reaching for the stars.
Astrid, a spunky, smart California third grader, has great aspirations.
She will become “the first astronaut with hearing aids,” a possibility that is treated very naturally within this story, the first in a new chapter book series. Joining the Shooting Stars, an after-school club devoted to all things space, has long been part of Astrid’s “Astronomically Grand Plan.” Though Astrid wants to go to space camp, it’s expensive, but a scholarship is available for the Shooting Stars student who earns the most points for completing the STEM-oriented Astro Missions. She discovers another problem when she realizes that her best friend, Hallie, is more interested in art than in STEM and joins the Petite Picassos club. How can Astrid navigate Shooting Stars without her BFF, especially when she and her teammate Veejay don’t start out well? Club teacher Ms. Ruiz stresses creativity and partnership, and math and science enthusiasts will be attracted to this book, but the real emphasis is on relationships. Astrid must befriend Hallie again after voicing her disappointment with her interests and learn to be a good teammate. Astrid is likable, and her story, told in first person, realistically explores her hearing issues, her initial problem-solving failures, and her successes. Black-and-white illustrations depict Astrid (wearing her hearing aids) and her family as light-skinned, though other students appear to be racially diverse, and Hallie is cued as Asian.
An exuberant portrayal of a girl with hearing restrictions reaching for the stars. (Chapter book. 7-10)Pub Date: July 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8148-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
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by David Wiesner ; illustrated by David Wiesner ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2020
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy.
Robo-parents Diode and Lugnut present daughter Cathode with a new little brother—who requires, unfortunately, some assembly.
Arriving in pieces from some mechanistic version of Ikea, little Flange turns out to be a cute but complicated tyke who immediately falls apart…and then rockets uncontrollably about the room after an overconfident uncle tinkers with his basic design. As a squad of helpline techies and bevies of neighbors bearing sludge cake and like treats roll in, the cluttered and increasingly crowded scene deteriorates into madcap chaos—until at last Cath, with help from Roomba-like robodog Sprocket, stages an intervention by whisking the hapless new arrival off to a backyard workshop for a proper assembly and software update. “You’re such a good big sister!” warbles her frazzled mom. Wiesner’s robots display his characteristic clean lines and even hues but endearingly look like vaguely anthropomorphic piles of random jet-engine parts and old vacuum cleaners loosely connected by joints of armored cable. They roll hither and thither through neatly squared-off panels and pages in infectiously comical dismay. Even the end’s domestic tranquility lasts only until Cathode spots the little box buried in the bigger one’s packing material: “TWINS!” (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 52% of actual size.)
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-544-98731-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
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