Readers might finish this book more confused than when they began.
This short educational book is an introduction to gender for elementary-age kids.
On minimalist white pages with cheerful blocks of color that often turn out to be difficult-to-read words, the author invites readers to ponder the meaning of gender. The author shares their identity as a nonbinary trans person but does not pressure readers to identify their own. As part of a larger study of gender, this book would be a useful conversation starter, but it is neither specific nor clear enough to be an introductory text. Much of the vocabulary introduced is likely unfamiliar, and concepts are presented so broadly as to become meaningless, which raises the question of whether the book is really about gender. Certainly oversimplification does a disservice to children, but the author seems to be unable to produce definitions that support their points. For example, they imply that nothing is just for boys or girls, then go on to explain their nonbinary identity in terms of their gendered interests. The building blocks of a helpful text are here, but they are precariously stacked. The most valuable parts of the book are the advice allowing children space to be unsure about gender and to experiment as well as the acknowledgement that not everyone may understand your gender but that being yourself is worth it.
Readers might finish this book more confused than when they began. (additional resources) (Nonfiction. 5-8)Pub Date: May 17, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-951253-67-7
Page Count: 64
Publisher: A Kids Book About
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2021
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
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
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