An engaging tribute to scientists who transformed volcanic study through fearless dedication.
Writing in verse, Manley chronicles the passionate lives and tragic deaths of French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft.
The parallel childhoods of the book’s subjects unfold through vividly provided details: Katia’s love of pebbles, Maurice’s early years exploring Pompeii. Their meeting as university students ignites “L’Équipe Vulcain”—the Vulcan Team, a decades-long partnership documenting volcanic eruptions worldwide until their 1991 deaths at Mount Unzen in Japan. Tens of thousands were saved, however; video taken by the Kraffts documenting the dangers of volcanos prompted a mass evacuation. The verse format creates narrative momentum, particularly in the chapter “The Last Day,” which effectively establishes tension and character voice. Sidebars smoothly integrate scientific content. Roy’s illustrations prove spectacular, using selective bursts of orange and red lava against grayscale backgrounds to create visceral impact; her dramatic perspectives emphasize volcanic scale against tiny human infrastructure, while atmospheric smoke and ash effects convey the chaos the Kraffts witnessed. The verse quality varies; some evocative lines achieve genuine lyricism, while expository passages such as “the analyzer determined which gases / were puffing out of the fumaroles” read more like prose broken into lines. Some line breaks feel arbitrary rather than purposeful. Still, the Kraffts’ compelling story—two obsessive scientists committed to their work and to each other—propels the narrative with real emotional power, and the extensive backmatter grounds their legacy in contemporary volcanology.
An engaging tribute to scientists who transformed volcanic study through fearless dedication. (author’s note, additional resources, bibliography) (Verse biography. 8-12)Pub Date: April 21, 2026
ISBN: 9780063386297
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless.
Tales of a fourth grade ne’er-do-well.
It seems that young Jordan is stuck in a never-ending string of bad luck. Sure, no one’s perfect (except maybe goody-two-shoes William Feranek), but Jordan can’t seem to keep his attention focused on the task at hand. Try as he may, things always go a bit sideways, much to his educators’ chagrin. But Jordan promises himself that fourth grade will be different. As the year unfolds, it does prove to be different, but in a way Jordan couldn’t possibly have predicted. This humorous memoir perfectly captures the square-peg-in-a-round-hole feeling many kids feel and effectively heightens that feeling with comic situations and a splendid villain. Jordan’s teacher, Mrs. Fisher, makes an excellent foil, and the book’s 1970s setting allows for her cruelty to go beyond anything most contemporary readers could expect. Unfortunately, the story begins to run out of steam once Mrs. Fisher exits. Recollections spiral, losing their focus and leading to a more “then this happened” and less cause-and-effect structure. The anecdotes are all amusing and Jordan is an endearing protagonist, but the book comes dangerously close to wearing out its welcome with sheer repetitiveness. Thankfully, it ends on a high note, one pleasant and hopeful enough that readers will overlook some of the shabbier qualities. Jordan is White and Jewish while there is some diversity among his classmates; Mrs. Fisher is White.
Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless. (Memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-64723-5
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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