Enlightening and affirmative, if a bit skimpy on details.
With help from a human author, a book retraces its journey from seed to codex.
“I was a pine tree,” the proud narrator proclaims. “I was tall, green, and handsome.” Before that it was a pine nut that was eaten by a hungry squirrel named Derek, then passed on to an industrious dung beetle named Barbara before ending up in just the right woodland spot to sprout and grow to towering size. Then it was chopped down (“I KNOW. I was fuming”), fed into a series of machines to be made into paper, and transformed into a book—which is amazing because, of course, “books are magic. And stories are forever.” Switching occasionally to a vertical orientation for retro-style illustrations, Karsten carries the effusive explainer from forest floor through Derek’s intestines and on to a set of complex but generic factory machines and finally to a library where a racially diverse set of children are happily poring over and sharing their bookish finds. McLaughlin skips a few steps along the way—those interested in the nuts and bolts of book manufacturing may be disappointed—but in conjunction with Aliki’s outdated but still useful How a Book Is Made (1986), he does provide a broad picture of the process, and the earnest message about the value of books and stories is a lovely bonus.
Enlightening and affirmative, if a bit skimpy on details. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: March 3, 2026
ISBN: 9798887772257
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: Nov. 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2025
An introduction to Venus that shows the planet at her most verbally and visually vivacious.
The solar system’s hottest diva struts her stuff.
The titular character’s claim that she’s the only goddess among the planetary gods may leave partisans of “Gaea” (technically not an official name, but still) feeling a little miffed. That aside, Venus still has plenty to crow about—from having higher surface temperatures than Mercury, to sporting a day that’s longer than her year, to spinning so the sun comes up in the west. Joining McAnulty’s other solar system soliloquies with the same engaging mix of facts and attitude (“Earth has clouds. I don’t…just have clouds. I’m smothered in them!”), Venus shines up from the page. She sports a proud expression on her broad face, whether hovering with windswept golden locks over a seashell like her Botticellian counterpart or floating in space, waving to her earthly and celestial fans with stubby limbs. Closing with a review quiz and a roundup of basic statistics, this animated planetary self-portrait will give young readers more reason than ever to pay proper attention to the brightest of our non-stellar astronomical neighbors.
An introduction to Venus that shows the planet at her most verbally and visually vivacious. (bibliography) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781250334473
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Odd Dot
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
“It’s time to head back home,” the narrator concludes. “You’ve touched the Earth in so many ways.” Who knew it would be so...
A pro bono Twinkie of a book invites readers to fly off in a magic plane to bring clean water to our planet’s oceans, deserts, and brown children.
Following a confusingly phrased suggestion beneath a soft-focus world map to “touch the Earth. Now touch where you live,” a shake of the volume transforms it into a plane with eyes and feathered wings that flies with the press of a flat, gray “button” painted onto the page. Pressing like buttons along the journey releases a gush of fresh water from the ground—and later, illogically, provides a filtration device that changes water “from yucky to clean”—for thirsty groups of smiling, brown-skinned people. At other stops, a tap on the button will “help irrigate the desert,” and touching floating bottles and other debris in the ocean supposedly makes it all disappear so the fish can return. The 20 children Coh places on a globe toward the end are varied of skin tone, but three of the four young saviors she plants in the flier’s cockpit as audience stand-ins are white. The closing poem isn’t so openly parochial, though it seldom rises above vague feel-good sentiments: “Love the Earth, the moon and sun. / All the children can be one.”
“It’s time to head back home,” the narrator concludes. “You’ve touched the Earth in so many ways.” Who knew it would be so easy to clean the place up and give everyone a drink? (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: April 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5107-2083-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
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