An enthusiastic and information-packed narrative.
An overview of monarch butterfly science.
Church offers an extensive account of the discovery of the phenomenon of monarch migration from the east and central U.S. and Canada to their winter home, north of Mexico City. She opens with what locals knew at the time, describing 1940s school trips (recalled by Homero Aridjis, later Mexico’s UNESCO ambassador) to see “rivers of butterflies” in sanctuaries in Michoacán. She later details Aridjis’ successful efforts to protect them through UNESCO World Heritage Site status. In between, the author describes monarch development and recounts the series of experiments that led to scientific understanding of their life cycle. Similarly, she describes the procedures that two different sets of scientists developed to track migrating monarchs. Church devotes a full chapter to the experience of Catalina Trail, the Mexican woman who led Canadian scientists to the actual wintering sites. She then describes efforts to protect these sites, human pressures on the sanctuaries, the rise of citizen science tracking efforts in the U.S., and the impact of changing agricultural practices. She even discusses monarch populations west of the Rocky Mountains and beyond North America. Occasional black-and-white photos supplement the text. This thoroughly researched work is not easy reading for the intended audience, but educators and determined science-minded readers will appreciate the clear presentation of the complexities of environmental protection in the modern world.
An enthusiastic and information-packed narrative. (author’s note, glossary, references, photo credits, index) (Nonfiction. 9-14)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781338749229
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Scholastic Focus
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
Contentwise, an arbitrary assortment…but sure to draw fans of comics, of science, or of both.
Flash, Batman, and other characters from the DC Comics universe tackle supervillains and STEM-related topics and sometimes, both.
Credited to 20 writers and illustrators in various combinations, the 10 episodes invite readers to tag along as Mera and Aquaman visit oceanic zones from epipelagic to hadalpelagic; Supergirl helps a young scholar pick a science-project topic by taking her on a tour of the solar system; and Swamp Thing lends Poison Ivy a hand to describe how DNA works (later joining Swamp Kid to scuttle a climate-altering scheme by Arcane). In other episodes, various costumed creations explain the ins and outs of diverse large- and small-scale phenomena, including electricity, atomic structure, forensic techniques, 3-D printing, and the lactate threshold. Presumably on the supposition that the characters will be more familiar to readers than the science, the minilectures tend to start from simple basics, but the figures are mostly both redrawn to look more childlike than in the comics and identified only in passing. Drawing styles and page designs differ from chapter to chapter but not enough to interrupt overall visual unity and flow—and the cast is sufficiently diverse to include roles for superheroes (and villains) of color like Cyborg, Kid Flash, and the Latina Green Lantern, Jessica Cruz. Appended lists of websites and science-based YouTube channels, plus instructions for homespun activities related to each episode, point inspired STEM-winders toward further discoveries.
Contentwise, an arbitrary assortment…but sure to draw fans of comics, of science, or of both. (Graphic nonfiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77950-382-4
Page Count: 160
Publisher: DC
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hot on the heels of the well-received Leonardo da Vinci (2005) comes another agreeably chatty entry in the Giants of Science series. Here the pioneering physicist is revealed as undeniably brilliant, but also cantankerous, mean-spirited, paranoid and possibly depressive. Newton’s youth and annus mirabilis receive respectful treatment, the solitude enforced by family estrangement and then the plague seen as critical to the development of his thoughtful, methodical approach. His subsequent squabbles with the rest of the scientific community—he refrained from publishing one treatise until his rival was dead—further support the image of Newton as a scientific lone wolf. Krull’s colloquial treatment sketches Newton’s advances in clearly understandable terms without bogging the text down with detailed explanations. A final chapter on “His Impact” places him squarely in the pantheon of great thinkers, arguing that both his insistence on the scientific method and his theories of physics have informed all subsequent scientific thought. A bibliography, web site and index round out the volume; the lack of detail on the use of sources is regrettable in an otherwise solid offering for middle-grade students. (Biography. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-670-05921-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2006
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