Valuable insights into (arguably) our most important organ.
A neuroscientist presents simple projects and activities designed to demonstrate the brain’s major functions—and a few of its quirks.
Chudler begins with instructions for variously modeling neurons from clay, flavored gelatin (a “Neuro-Snack”), string, pipe cleaners, or rope. Using similarly common materials, the entries in ensuing sections cover the five senses (three to seven projects each), the brain’s physical structure, reflexes, sleep and body rhythms, and finally the ins and outs of long- and short-term memory. Along with materials lists, step-by-step directions (with appropriate safety notes), estimated durations, and explanations of expected results (with suggestions for alternative or follow-up activities), the entries all include descriptions of the brain part or function in play and related technical or historical “Brain Facts.” Some projects, such as watching a sleeping subject to observe REM sleep or recording the circadian rhythms of an animal (in the picture, a fish in a plain fishbowl), may not be particularly workable, but most will have successful outcomes, and many could serve nicely as the bases for school science projects. In accompanying photographs the large cast of young makers and test subjects is predominantly but not exclusively white.
Valuable insights into (arguably) our most important organ. (Nonfiction. 9-14)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-63159-396-3
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Quarry
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care.
In 1977, the oil carrier Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil into a formerly pristine Alaskan ocean inlet, killing millions of birds, animals, and fish. Despite a cleanup, crude oil is still there.
The Winters foretold the destructive powers of the atomic bomb allusively in The Secret Project (2017), leaving the actuality to the backmatter. They make no such accommodations to young audiences in this disturbing book. From the dark front cover, on which oily blobs conceal a seabird, to the rescuer’s sad face on the back, the mother-son team emphasizes the disaster. A relatively easy-to-read and poetically heightened text introduces the situation. Oil is pumped from the Earth “all day long, all night long, / day after day, year after year” in “what had been unspoiled land, home to Native people // and thousands of caribou.” The scale of extraction is huge: There’s “a giant pipeline” leading to “enormous ships.” Then, crash. Rivers of oil gush out over three full-bleed wordless pages. Subsequent scenes show rocks, seabirds, and sea otters covered with oil. Finally, 30 years later, animals have returned to a cheerful scene. “But if you lift a rock… // oil / seeps / up.” For an adult reader, this is heartbreaking. How much more difficult might this be for an animal-loving child?
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3077-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
A splendid volume for young adventurers.
Based on her work with middle-school students, Long offers lessons on how to stay healthy and out of trouble while awaiting rescue, the same lessons taught to adults in her survival classes.
Her matter-of-fact, no-nonsense tone will play well with young readers, and the clear writing style is appropriate to the content. The engaging guide covers everything from building shelters to avoiding pigs and javelinas. With subjects like kissing bugs, scorpions, snow blindness and “How going to the bathroom can attract bears and mountain lions,” the volume invites browsing as much as studying. The information offered is sometimes obvious: “If you find yourself facing an alligator, get away from it”; sometime humorous: Raccoons will “fight with your dog, steal all your food, then climb up a tree and call you bad names in raccoon language”; and sometimes not comforting: “When alligators attack on land, they usually make one grab at you; if they miss, you are usually safe.” But when survival is at stake, the more information the better, especially when leavened with some wit. An excellent bibliography will lead young readers to a host of fascinating websites, and 150 clipart-style line drawings complement the text.
A splendid volume for young adventurers. (index not seen) (Nonfiction. 9-14)Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-56976-708-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
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