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by Elleen Hutcheson & Darcy Pattison ; illustrated by John Joven ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 9, 2021
A science-centric winner, especially for young dinosaur lovers.
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Kirkus Reviews'
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An atom of calcium makes the journey from dinosaur bone to child’s body in this entertaining tale about the conservation of mass.
When the narrator announces to a brown-haired, blue-eyed child: “You have a little bit of Tyrannosaurus rex in your jawbone,” the child looks astonished. It is, the narrator explains, the child’s mother’s fault. But how did the bit of dinosaur get there? The narrator guides the child—and the reader—through the saga of a dinosaur’s living, dying, and being buried long ago. As rain erodes both the rock burying the dinosaur and a little bit of the dinosaur’s toe bone, calcium from the bones washes into the river. From there, the water irrigates a corn field, the corn is fed to a cow, and the cow makes milk, which becomes cheese, which the child’s mother purchases for lunch. The calcium becomes part of the child’s bones—and will one day again return to the cycle to perhaps become calcium in the spine of a blue whale. Hutcheson and Pattison introduce difficult science concepts in simple, accessible language. Although death is a part of this cycle, it’s handled in a scientific and not scary way. Joven’s comical, retro, and ingenious illustrations—featuring bright colors as well as a cow that rides inside a tractor and has a milk faucet inside her body—are brimming with kid appeal.
A science-centric winner, especially for young dinosaur lovers.Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-62944-153-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Mims House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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PERSPECTIVES
by Melissa Stewart and illustrated by Constance R. Bergum ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2009
A snow-covered countryside may look barren of life, but Stewart’s quiet text takes readers under the blanket of white to “a hidden world” where ladybugs sleep en masse and voles tunnel from tree to tree, where a wood frog freezes safely solid and bluegills and waterboatmen share frigid waters, where a turtle lies buried in mud and “even on the coldest winter days, red-spotted newts dodge and dart, whiz and whirl just below the ice.” Bergum’s equally quiet watercolors spread across the pages in panels that offer cross-sections and magnified details to give readers glimpses of the world beneath the snow. Their precision lends a dignity and beauty even to a sleeping centipede and a barbeled carp. Readers will come away with an appreciation for the adaptability and endurance of the animal world. (Informational picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-56145-493-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2009
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by Melissa Stewart ; illustrated by Jessica Lanan
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by Melissa Stewart ; illustrated by Rob Dunlavey
by Julie Dillemuth ; illustrated by Laura Wood ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 8, 2019
An adorable adventure in cartography.
An exercise of spatial thinking through a snowy forest.
Camilla the warthog collects maps. Maps of stars, New York, even the London Tube. She even owns an ancient map of her forest. Unfortunately for her, she believes all lands have been explored and there is nothing new to chart. However, with a snowy morning comes a new opportunity. When her hedgehog neighbor, Parsley, asks for her help in finding the creek, Camilla quivers with excitement when she realizes the snow-covered land “is uncharted territory.” With all landmarks covered in snow, Camilla and Parsley must use their spatial-reasoning skills and a compass to find a new way to the creek. Their trailblazing journey proves a challenge as they keep bumping into trees, rocks, and walls. But when they find the creek, Camilla will have all the information and tools ready to draw out a new map, to break out in case of another snowfall. Wood’s delightful illustrations and Dillemuth’s expertise in the matter engage readers in the woodland creatures’ adventures. In addition, Dillemuth, who holds a doctorate in geography, provides activities in the backmatter for parents and caregivers to help children develop their own spatial-reasoning skills, such as sketching and reading maps or using cardinal directions.
An adorable adventure in cartography. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4338-3033-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
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by Julie Dillemuth ; illustrated by Laura Wood
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