Riveting reading for junior astronauts—and just about everybody else.
An ex-astronaut shares vital information about what he calls “our, um, bodily functions” in microgravity.
Prospective space travelers can find out about astro-toilets from many guides, but with the help of co-author Loredana, Williams goes far beyond that—offering not only frank observations about toilet facilities for men and women both aboard the International Space Station and in space suits, but measures taken to deal with constipation and farting. In addition, he offers accepted techniques for keeping body, hair, nose, and teeth clean; how to eat and sleep in space; and what to expect in the way of temporary body changes in, for instance, height and bone density. Burping, as it turns out, is a chancy business, because there’s no way of telling what will come up: “make sure you have a cleanup plan ready!” He does leave out a few topics, notably menstruation, but along with the alimentary information, he also slips in some general facts about astronaut gear and practices. Krynauwis adds cartoon images of smiling children floating in the void to the mix of narrative blocks and photos of ISS residents at work and play. The cast, both in the photos and the cartoons, displays a range of nationalities and skin colors (including green).
Riveting reading for junior astronauts—and just about everybody else. (index, resource lists) (Nonfiction. 7-11)Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-55451-854-8
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
Tense, heartwarming, and masterful.
When wildfires threaten their home, 11-year-old Cara and her family flee, unintentionally leaving Cara’s dog, Mike, behind in this middle-grade novel in first-person, present-tense verse.
When she was 9, Cara picked out Mike from the shelter, eschewing the adorable goldendoodle puppies and setting her heart instead on a one-eyed grown-up mutt despite her parents’ misgivings. Green does a marvelous job of using backstory to deepen the commitment and love between dog and girl—Cara’s insecurities about school, her older sister, and her need for the stability provided by her crossword-puzzle routine are all soothed by Mike’s unflagging loyalty. But when wildfires rage close and the family has 10 minutes to leave, Mike goes missing. The skillful narrative turns white-knuckle tense as taut verse describes the family fleeing on a road clogged with cars and burning trees, while Cara desperately scans the roadside for Mike. Reaching safety, the family is hosted by the Bains, a brown-skinned couple with a white foster daughter, Jewel. (Cara and her family are implied white.) Jewel and Cara put a notice about Mike on the internet and notify shelters, but as the days tick by and Mike remains missing, Cara faces the wrenching possibility that he is gone—just as, as her family finds out, their house is gone and just as her best friend Heather, who is moving away, will soon be gone.
Tense, heartwarming, and masterful. (Fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-77278-045-1
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Pajama Press
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A floral fantasia for casual browsers as well as budding botanists.
Spirited illustrations brighten a large-format introduction to flowers and their pollinators.
Showing a less Eurocentric outlook than in his Big Book of Birds (2019), Zommer employs agile brushwork and a fondness for graceful lines and bright colors to bring to life bustling bouquets from a range of habitats, from rainforest to desert. Often switching from horizontal to vertical orientations, the topical spreads progress from overviews of major floral families and broad looks at plant anatomy and reproduction to close-ups of select flora—roses and tulips to Venus flytraps and stinking flowers. The book then closes with a shoutout to the conservators and other workers at Kew Gardens (this is a British import) and quick suggestions for young balcony or windowsill gardeners. In most of the low-angled scenes, fancifully drawn avian or insect pollinators with human eyes hover around all the large, luscious blooms, as do one- or two-sentence comments that generally add cogent observations or insights: “All parts of the deadly nightshade plant contain poison. It has been used to poison famous emperors, kings and warriors throughout history.” (Confusingly for the audience, the accurate but limited assertion that bees “often visit blue or purple flowers” appears to be contradicted by an adjacent view of several zeroing in on a yellow toadflax.) Human figures, or, in one scene, hands, are depicted in a variety of sizes, shapes, and skin colors.
A floral fantasia for casual browsers as well as budding botanists. (glossary, index) (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-500-65199-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
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