With roofs and walls cut away, medieval castles and related settings teem with tiny figures to spy out and on.
Packaged with a 3x magnifying glass that younger eyes, at least, probably won’t need, this companion to Egypt Magnified (2018) offers panoramic views of gore-free battles, sieges, and jousts along with feasts, festivals, and bustling markets—all aboil with hundreds of light-skinned microscopic figures. With a few exceptions, most notably a Syrian castle and a Polish one, the presentation is quite Anglocentric. Aside from Windsor Castle, seen under construction, and a cutaway billed as “like Carrickfergus” in Northern Ireland (a particular highlight, being riddled with dungeons and alive with prisoners escaping or being nondisturbingly tortured), the structures are generic and depicted without much regard for realistic architecture or perspective. The accompanying commentary likewise seldom goes beyond generic descriptions of knightly training, references to distinctive occupations (the “gong farmer” was responsible for cleaning castle “lavatories”), or such patronizing observations as “many people believed prayers could work like magic spells.” There is a key at the end for the dozens of specific items or people viewers are urged to locate throughout; it joins a picture gallery of renowned knights to cap an amiable, if far from authoritative, seek-and-find ramble.
Unvarnished infotainment for sharp-eyed Where’s Waldo fans. (glossary, timeline) (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-78603-325-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S HISTORY | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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An introduction to the lead guitar and vocalist for the Brainiacs—the human brain.
The brain (familiar to readers of Seluk’s “The Awkward Yeti” webcomic, which spun off the adult title Heart and Brain, 2015) looks like a dodgeball with arms and legs—pinkish, sturdy, and roundish, with a pair of square-framed spectacles bestowing an air of importance and hipness. Other organs of the body—tongue, lungs, stomach, muscle, and heart—are featured as members of the brain’s rock band (the verso of the dust jacket is a poster of the band). Seluk’s breezy, conversational prose and brightly colored, boldly outlined cartoon illustrations deliver basic information. The brain’s role in keeping the heart beating and other automatic functions, directing body movements, interpreting sights and sounds, remembering smells and tastes, and regulating sleep and hunger are all explained, prose augmented by dialogue balloons and information sidebars. Seluk points out, importantly, that feelings originate in the brain: “You can control how you react…but your feelings happen no matter what.” The parodied album covers on the front endpapers (including the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Green Day, Run DMC, Queen, Nirvana) will amuse parents—or at least grandparents—and the rear endpapers serve up band members’ clever social media and texting screenshots. Backmatter includes a glossary and further brain trivia but no resources or bibliography.
A good overview of this complex, essential organ, with an energetic seasoning of silliness. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-16700-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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BOOK REVIEW
Denizens of the deep crowd oversized pages in this populous gallery of ocean life.
The finny and tentacled sea creatures drifting or arrowing through Zommer’s teeming watercolor seascapes are generally recognizable, and they are livened rather than distorted by the artist’s tendency to place human eyes on the same side of many faces, Picasso-like. Headers such as “Ink-teresting” or “In for the krill” likewise add a playful tone to the pithy comments on anatomical features or behavioral quirks that accompany the figures (which include, though rarely, a white human diver). The topical spreads begin with an overview of ocean families (“Some are hairy, some have scales, some have fins and some are boneless and brainless!”), go on to introduce select animals in no particular order from sea horses and dragonets to penguins and pufferfish, then close with cautionary remarks on chemical pollution and floating plastic. The author invites readers as they go to find both answers to such questions as “Why does a crab run sideways?” and also a small sardine hidden in some, but not all, of the pictures. For the latter he provides a visual key at the end, followed by a basic glossary.
A refreshing dive past some of our world’s marine wonders. (index) (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: June 5, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-500-65119-3
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 25, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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