Barely scratches the surface (of the topic, anyway) but covers a lot of territory in its formulaic way.
An interactive introduction to our home planet and the forces that shape it.
With the help of a pop-up, a pull tab, and several variously sized flaps, young students of geology can make a volcano erupt dramatically, see both the rock and water cycles in action, and view the effects of tides, earthquakes, and continental drift. The full but not overcrowded pages also offer quick looks at related topics ranging from ores and gems to auroras, weather, and seasons. A few simplistic assertions aside (“The North Pole is found on top of the Earth”; the Dead Sea “is so salty you can float on it!”), Jerram’s comments and captions enrich the mix of photos and painted images with concise explanations, light doses of statistics, and like nourishing infobites. A recurrent “Do Try This at Home” feature offers a set of very simple demonstrations and activities.
Barely scratches the surface (of the topic, anyway) but covers a lot of territory in its formulaic way. (Informational pop-up picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: March 21, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4654-5867-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017
Produced to celebrate the National Park Service’s upcoming centenary, a breezy invitation to prospective travelers to “get...
A family road trip through several national parks transforms young Jane’s feelings about missing out on a summer of online fun with her friends.
“There’s absolutely nothing to see here,” Jane emails fretfully as her family drives through the scenic Smoky Mountains and canoes past alligators and manatees in the Everglades. But once her dad gets her to put the tablet away and look through a telescope at the night skies over Big Bend National Park, her attitude transforms: “OH WOW!” Soon she’s tiptoeing over the Grand Canyon’s Skywalk like an acrobat, playing pirate on a raft down the Colorado River, scouting out “Mountain lions, buffalo, and bears. Oh my!” in Yellowstone—and, discovering that she’s misplaced her electronic device, sending written postcards to her friends from Yosemite. Furthermore, once back home, what better way to debrief than a backyard cookout under the stars? Giving blonde Jane and the rest of her white family broad, pleasant features, Rogers sends them smiling and singing their way through a succession of natural wonders, with bears and bald eagles, footnotes (adult supervision required on the Skywalk, for instance), and only a few fellow, occasionally diverse tourists in the background. Endpaper maps track the long itinerary, and a (select) list of other national parks and sites in each state offers more destinations.
Produced to celebrate the National Park Service’s upcoming centenary, a breezy invitation to prospective travelers to “get out there!” (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-246835-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
An appealing invitation to consider the nuances in there being “no place like home.”
Tate would love to have a wild animal in the house…but for some reason, they’re not interested in moving in.
Determined to “rescue” the creatures she loves, Tate—a small, brown-skinned child with big, soulful eyes—writes letters to a variety of animals, declaring, “I want to save you from the wild!” Discouragingly, the lion responds to her offer of a safe home, a bath, and free meals with a “Proud Pass,” while the orca turns up its nose at the idea of living in Tate’s kiddie pool (“Sometimes I swim forty miles a day”). The grizzly bear emphasizes that it needs a den far bigger than Tate could provide (“I’ll be 800 pounds in no time”). Though some readers may question whether the trash-picking raccoons depicted in the story are really living in the wild, the author’s point about forcing wildlife into unnatural habitats is well taken, as is her closing suggestion that supporting animal conservation and rescue organizations is a better way to go. As for Tate, readers will be happy to see her connect at last with the stray dog that’s been shadowing her from the beginning and quickly becomes the perfect recipient for the promised home, bath, and meals.
An appealing invitation to consider the nuances in there being “no place like home.” (ways to help animals, websites for animal rescue organizations, author’s note) (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: June 18, 2024
ISBN: 9780593569078
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
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