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IF

Name: IF
Author: David J. Smith
ISBN: 978-1-894786-34-8

A MIND-BENDING NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT BIG IDEAS AND NUMBERS

by David J. Smith ; illustrated by Steve Adams ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2014

If this book were a pizza, young readers would gobble down every slice—and demand more for dessert.

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Continuing his exploration of the mind-expanding possibilities of scale modeling, Smith extends the premise of If America Were a Village (2009) to encompass life, time and the universe.

Following a well-taken note that his comparisons are mostly approximations, the author proposes thinking of Earth’s life span as a month, all wealth as 100 coins and 14 similar transformations designed to make incomprehensibly huge numbers or measurements at least theoretically graspable. The trick doesn’t always work (“If the Milky Way galaxy were shrunk to the size of a dinner plate...,” the visible universe “would be about the size of Belgium”), but it does offer readers a chance to think of time, for instance, in terms of days or minutes instead of millions of years. Better yet, Adams’ painted infographics offer literal visualizations of the planets as balls of different sizes, of where inventions from fire to smartphones would lie relative to one another along a ruler or tape measure, and how many “slices” of our life are consumed in sleeping—if our life were a pizza. In a closing note addressed to adults, the author suggests further scaling and numeracy-building exercises.

If this book were a pizza, young readers would gobble down every slice—and demand more for dessert. (Informational picture book. 7-10)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-894786-34-8

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Kids Can

Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
IF AMERICA WERE A VILLAGE
by David J. Smith and illustrated by Shelagh Armstrong

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WHAT DAT?

by David Horvath & Sun-Min Kim ; illustrated by David Horvath & Sun-Min Kim ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 27, 2011

Not the Best Riff on a Children’s Classic Ever, but good for the occasional chuckle. (Picture book. 7-9)

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A twisted Richard Scarry–esque outing finds the creators’ “Uglydoll” figures serving in place of all the cute kitties and puppies and piggies.

Aimed at hip graduates of Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever (1963) and modeled after same, this visit to the Uglyverse invites readers to pore over big, busy, labeled assemblages of cartoon images while helping blobby Babo do a variety of things. They will search a city streetscape for his one-eyed unicorn, make stops at Ugly Port Harbor and elsewhere, tour a farmer’s market and a factory, then finally explore Babo’s home and neighborhood for such items as an “ebook reader,” a pitcher of “tea with interesting taste” and “pricey 1/6 scale action figures from Hong Kong.” Along with wisecracks in each relatively thematic spread’s introductory paragraph (“What’s a pleasure boat? Anything small that doesn’t sink”), the authors mix conventional descriptive words for common objects and people with a sardonic lexicon of terms both useful (“ATM number pad,” “retro game machine,” “parking enforcement officer”) and less so (“magnetic blender,” “canned moonlight”). Each is placed near a small, simply drawn item or garishly colored monster.

Not the Best Riff on a Children’s Classic Ever, but good for the occasional chuckle. (Picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2011

ISBN: 978-0-375-86434-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: June 28, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2011

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
JUST LIKE BOSSY BEAR
by David Horvath & illustrated by David Horvath

- BOOK REVIEW
BOSSY BEAR
by David Horvath ; illustrated by David Horvath

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E-MERGENCY

by Tom Lichtenheld & Ezra Fields-Meyer & illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2011

Definitely not a beginner’s ABC book, but the visual and print punnery will have elementary kids (and adults) guessing and...

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Help! The letter E has fallen (down the stairs) and can’t get up!

Get ready to chortle over this zany alphabet book, which poses as a mystery with the letters as the cast of characters, aided by some exclamation points. When E takes a tumble in the alphabet’s crowded communal quarters, all the others are concerned. A takes action, as always, calling the ambulance and assembling the alphabet to determine who will take E’s place. “O, you're the obvious option because you’re so well-rounded.” An announcement is made on television not to “uso! E! until! sho! rocovors!” D and C go to Washington to alert the "govornmont," while the other letters talk it up on talk shows. Then A decides to take a road trip to spread the word: “Pack your bags, lottors. It’s timo for a journoy!” When E just doesn’t get better, the search is on for the culprit who’s broken the letter law. The comic illustrations and the comments from the letters totally exaggerate the cleverness and fun while amusingly emphasizing the importance of the letter E in our language. Lichtenheld’s co-author developed the basic concept in a video, Alphabet House, and it is a rich one.

Definitely not a beginner’s ABC book, but the visual and print punnery will have elementary kids (and adults) guessing and laughing. (Alphabet picture book. 7-10)