An immersive tour of oceanic realms.
A globe-spanning gallery of marine life in panoramic settings ranging from the rocky nesting sites of seabirds to the depths of the Marianas Trench.
Hawkins and Letherland (Atlas of Dinosaur Adventures, 2017, etc.) include stops in Arctic and other northerly waters but largely focus on named locales in the Pacific and the Southern Hemisphere. Painted views of a sperm whale and a colossal squid going tooth to tentacle in the Ross Sea or a teeming shoal of hammerhead sharks swirling around a Cocos Island seamount supply visual drama while undulating lines of accompanying captions offer generous dollops of the verbal sort: “The lionfish gets a taste of its own medicine as the Bobbit worm injects a paralyzing toxin. Dinner is served.” Here brightly colored sea dragons and other tropical fish dart through equally picturesque reefs, there blue-footed boobies and crimson Sally Lightfoot crabs (both “nifty little movers”) strut their stuff ashore. As if there weren’t natural business enough to provide an engrossing turmoil, sharp-eyed viewers will spot goggles on a leatherback turtle, a Magellanic penguin poised on a diving board, and other tongue-in-cheek tweaks. Periodic mentions of the dangers of floating plastic and other pollution add an undercurrent that surfaces at the end in a spread titled “Oceans in Danger.” Otherwise, aside from the occasional boat, humans and their works are absent.
An immersive tour of oceanic realms. (index) (Informational picture book. 8-11)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7112-4531-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Choruses of delighted “Eeewww”s guaranteed, as well as exposure to such important scientific terms as “mustelid” and...
Fertile fodder for fans of faux fearful freakouts.
The latest in a largely interchangeable series with nearly identical titles (100 Deadliest Things on the Planet, 2012; 100 Most Awesome Things on the Planet, 2011; etc.), this gallery of creepy creatures offers unapologetically sensationalized content. Small portrait photos, five per spread, are matched to names, size ranges, two pithy descriptive notes and “scariness ratings” on a scale of one to five shark teeth. Along with, no surprise, 10 types of shark, the entries include a variety of biting insects and parasitic worms, poison frogs, snakes, carnivorous mammals on land and in the sea, deadly birds (a cassowary “[k]icks hard enough to tear an animal open or rip through a car door”), poisonous jellyfish and killer spiders. No need to fear, writes the author, “most” of these animals will leave you alone if not bothered, and “most” of their bites or stings have medical treatments. Browsers seeking self-inflicted terror or disgust will find in the small but rousing pictures a wide range of open maws and jagged teeth—but (with rare exceptions like the guinea worm being pulled from a sore) nothing seriously gruesome or disturbing.
Choruses of delighted “Eeewww”s guaranteed, as well as exposure to such important scientific terms as “mustelid” and “parasite.” (“Top 100” countdown, index) (Nonfiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-56342-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2013
An updated and more melodramatically titled version of a 1994 title, it sounds warnings that have grown all the more...
Bright, sharp nature photos and a special focus on ice-based ecosystems set this survey apart from the usual run of assignment titles on glaciers and the polar regions.
Returning continually to the dangerous effects of global warming, the authors describe changes in climate conditions at both poles and explain how those changes affect glaciers and icebergs. Wilson and León go on to introduce threatened or officially endangered life forms that live in those habitats. These range from algae and the glacier flea (“Each night it freezes, hard as a popsicle, to the surface ice until warmer daytime temperatures free it”) to polar bears and penguins. With side glances at Mount Kilimanjaro and the Swiss Alps, the photos capture Arctic foxes in both winter and summer coats, penguins and puffins at their most photogenic, glaciers rolling grandly down to sea and luminous views of sunlit icebergs and a glacial ice cave. Bulleted facts at the end reinforce the message; leads to eco-activist organizations provide readers motivated by it with means to get involved.
An updated and more melodramatically titled version of a 1994 title, it sounds warnings that have grown all the more immediate. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-9799759-0-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: London Town Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2013
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