An appealing introduction to a STEM trailblazer.
Self-taught naturalist Jeanne Power invented methods to study marine organisms, defying prejudice against women to become a respected scientist.
After she’d married and moved to Sicily, in the early 1800s, the French former seamstress began studying the natural world around her, documenting her observations and devising ways to observe underwater creatures. She constructed an aquarium and filled it with animals found by local fishermen. She followed the life cycle of a paper nautilus—a kind of octopus—proving they create their own shells. She became the first female member of the science academy in Sicily. Later, she joined other societies, publishing research papers and defending her work. Griffith has applied years of editing experience to his debut picture book, selecting a career highpoint for his smoothly told narrative and offering more substance for slightly older readers in backmatter, including a note on contradictions he found in his research. Sources agree that Power overcame what might have been a catastrophic setback, the loss of years of research in a shipwreck, but disagree on its date. Other sections of the exemplary backmatter include a more-complete overview of her life and additional information about both the paper nautilus and the fields of marine biology and conservation. Stone’s bright illustrations depict an all-White cast; they have the flavor of 20th-century animation, fitting the positive tone of the text. Pair with biographies of Eugenie Clark. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10.4-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 69.5% of actual size.)
An appealing introduction to a STEM trailblazer. (bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: March 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-358-24432-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet and endearing feathered migration.
A relationship between a Latina grandmother and her mixed-race granddaughter serves as the frame to depict the ruby-throated hummingbird migration pattern.
In Granny’s lap, a girl is encouraged to “keep still” as the intergenerational pair awaits the ruby-throated hummingbirds with bowls of water in their hands. But like the granddaughter, the tz’unun—“the word for hummingbird in several [Latin American] languages”—must soon fly north. Over the next several double-page spreads, readers follow the ruby-throated hummingbird’s migration pattern from Central America and Mexico through the United States all the way to Canada. Davies metaphorically reunites the granddaughter and grandmother when “a visitor from Granny’s garden” crosses paths with the girl in New York City. Ray provides delicately hashed lines in the illustrations that bring the hummingbirds’ erratic flight pattern to life as they travel north. The watercolor palette is injected with vibrancy by the addition of gold ink, mirroring the hummingbirds’ flashing feathers in the slants of light. The story is supplemented by notes on different pages with facts about the birds such as their nest size, diet, and flight schedule. In addition, a note about ruby-throated hummingbirds supplies readers with detailed information on how ornithologists study and keep track of these birds.
A sweet and endearing feathered migration. (bibliography, index) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0538-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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