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UP & DOWN

Name: UP & DOWN
Author: Don Brown
ISBN: 978-1-58089-812-6

THE ADVENTURES OF JOHN JEFFRIES, FIRST AMERICAN TO FLY

by Don Brown ; illustrated by Don Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 12, 2018

“Up and down” indeed.

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Brown’s latest (Older than Dirt, 2017, etc.) follows the journey of balloonist John Jeffries, doctor and meteorologist, through his flight across the English Channel in 1785.

At the end of the American Revolution, Jeffries, a Tory, fled to England, where he was swiftly engulfed in “balloon mania.” An avid amateur meteorologist, Jeffries was thrilled by the possibility of recording new information at different altitudes. Jeffries quickly teamed up with Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard (husband of famed balloonist Sophie Blanchard) for two flights. For their second, the duo had an outlandish proposition: to be the first to fly across the English Channel from Britain to France. Unfortunately, the flight didn’t go as planned, and the duo was forced to unload as much ballast as possible—including their clothes—before ultimately landing unharmed, albeit underdressed, in France. Brown’s oil-pencil–and-watercolor illustrations are true to form, but readers may find themselves with more questions than answers thanks to uneven plotting and a lack of focus. Slight space is devoted to Jeffries pre-Channel flight, 18th-century ballooning culture, and the science of ballooning, while over half of the book is devoted to his most famous flight. Frustratingly, this causes the narrative to read like neither a full introductory biography of Jeffries’ life nor a strict account of the Channel flight. Jeffries, Blanchard, and spectators are all white.

“Up and down” indeed. (endnote, author’s note, bibliography, sources) (Informational picture book. 6-9)

Pub Date: June 12, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-58089-812-6

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Charlesbridge

Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
RUN AND HIDE
by Don Brown ; illustrated by Don Brown

- BOOK REVIEW
83 DAYS IN MARIUPOL
by Don Brown ; illustrated by Don Brown

- BOOK REVIEW
WE THE PEOPLE!
by Don Brown ; illustrated by Don Brown

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THE BIG BOOK OF THE BLUE

by Yuval Zommer ; illustrated by Yuval Zommer ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 5, 2018

A refreshing dive past some of our world’s marine wonders.

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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 24, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WILD
by Yuval Zommer ; illustrated by Yuval Zommer

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BIG BOOK OF NATURE ART
by Yuval Zommer ; illustrated by Yuval Zommer

- BOOK REVIEW
THE LIGHTS THAT DANCE IN THE NIGHT
by Yuval Zommer ; illustrated by Yuval Zommer

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THE NOT BAD ANIMALS

by Sophie Corrigan ; illustrated by Sophie Corrigan ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 7, 2020

An amiable point-counterpoint for budding animal lovers/haters.

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Forty-two creatures of ill repute, from scorpions to hyenas, put on their best faces and protest that they’re just misunderstood.

In paired double-page spreads, Corrigan first presents for each animal the case for considering it scary or gross, then, with the page turn, allows it to contradict itself. “I’m creepy and I’m crawly,” a spider supposedly gloats. “I spin webs from my butt and leave them in places where I KNOW you’ll get stuck in them.” In the following spread, the spider points out that “Only half of my kind spin webs, and we really, REALLY don’t want you to get stuck in them!” Along with pointing to roles in the natural order and including many crowd-pleasing references to butts and poop, these counterarguments tend to run along the lines of the rat’s “I’m a fluffy little SWEETIE!” and the toad’s “I am a plump lump of CUTENESS!” Each testimonial is backed up by a box of background information baldly labeled “FACTS.” Readers may find the chorus of smiley faces and claims of adorability unconvincing, but they will at least come away with more nuanced impressions of each creepy-crawly. The humorous cartoon illustrations don’t measure up to the in-your-face photos of Seymour Simon’s classic Animals Nobody Loves (2001), but this gallery of beasties unfairly regarded as “icky and ewwy and downright gross” is considerably broader.

An amiable point-counterpoint for budding animal lovers/haters. (glossary) (Nonfiction. 6-9)