An irresistible invitation to get out of the house and into the woods.
An exploration of woodland inhabitants in poems and pictures.
Elliott introduces prereaders to 15 creatures that make the forest their home, ranging from the diminutive millipede and hornet to the “ungainly, / mainly” moose. Elliott’s tight, mostly rhymed verse celebrates with great humor and insight each organism’s distinctive qualities. Elliott chooses both common creatures like the skunk, advising children, “Give the skunk / a lot of / room, unless / you care for / strong perfume,” and more stealthy types, such as the fisher cat: “Does not like fish. / Is not a cat. / I don’t know what / to make of that. / But when you are / as fierce as she, / there’s no need for / consistency. He admires even the unattractive opossum, “not a classic beauty” but notable for bumping “along the woodland track, / your babies clinging to your back: / there’s beauty, too, in duty.” Dunlavey’s expressively atmospheric double-page paintings play with light effects, a scarlet tanager flashing through the dappled green and a porcupine that’s just shuffled out of the beams of an oncoming truck. In addition to the pithy lyric portraits, Elliott provides intriguing facts about each animal in the backmatter, such as the “beaver’s teeth are constantly growing,” allowing inquisitive listeners to connect with these creatures in a variety of ways.
An irresistible invitation to get out of the house and into the woods. (Picture book/poetry. 3-7)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9783-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
So rocket science can be fun.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
If they haven’t already thought about their futures (and they probably haven’t), toddlers and preschoolers might start planning after perusing this cheerful first guide to scientific careers. Plump-cheeked, wide-eyed tykes with various skin and hair colors introduce different professions, including zoologist, meteorologist, aerospace engineer, and environmental scientist, depicted with cues to tip readers off to what the jobs entail. The simple text presents the sometimes-long, tongue-twisting career names while helpfully defining them in comprehensible terms. For example, an environmental scientist “helps take care of our world,” and a zoologist is defined as someone who “studies how animals behave.” Scientists in general are identified as those who “study, learn, and solve problems.” Such basic language not only benefits youngsters, but also offers adults sharing the book easy vocabulary with which to expand on conversations with kids about the professions. The title’s ebullient appearance is helped along by the typography: The jobs’ names are set in all caps, printed in color and in a larger font than the surrounding text, and emphasized with exclamation points. Additionally, the buoyant watercolors feature clues to what scientists in these fields work with, such as celestial bodies for astronomers. The youngest listeners won’t necessarily get all of this, but the book works as a rudimentary introduction to STEM topics and a shoutout to scientific endeavors.
So rocket science can be fun. (Informational picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-62354-149-1
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Budding zoologists take note.
Animals shout out their habitat names, sometimes finding striking similarities.
In a bouncy follow-up to I Was Born a Baby (2022), Fleming and Scott employ the same format, this time exploring animal homes. Wide-eyed, curious creatures peer out from their dwellings, each announcing where they live. Whenever there is a name that some share (such as nest), one of the animals interrupts to express shock: “Are you for SURE? I had NO clue!” Others (like an owl, a seal, and a gorilla) chime in: “Mine’s a nest!” “Mine’s a nest!” “Mine’s a nest, too!” A salamander pipes up: “I live in a bog.” Then a gopher pokes out from the soil, exclaiming, “I live in a mound.” A sleepy groundhog drawls from below, “My place is a burrow hidden in the ground.” The repeated (and dramatically incredulous) refrain helps anchor the story and highlights similarities. There are a variety of animals, in a variety of settings, each with its own vocabulary opportunity. Alas, the animals are not labeled on the pages, but the endpapers provide names, arranged by environments. Ultimately, a diverse set of tots (and their canine and feline friends) showcase the best home of all—a cozy bed, indoors. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Budding zoologists take note. (Informational picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: April 18, 2023
ISBN: 9780063205215
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
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