by Eve M. Vavagiakis ; illustrated by Ilze Lemesis ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 8, 2022
A poetic, gently humorous introduction to the world of neutrino physics.
The mysteries of a neutrino unfold!
This rhyming tale with minimal text offers a whimsical initiation into the wonders and features of a neutrino particle. Young readers will learn about the traits of neutrinos—charge, mass, weight, flavors, movements, and origins—and their significance. Ethereal digital illustrations with comical touches portray neutrinos from micro and macro perspectives and conjure up awe-inspiring images of outer space. Children and scientists of various races and genders are shown studying neutrinos; one double-page spread depicts the interior of a neutrino detector. Although the rhymes are sometimes wobbly and skew young, the text provides a solid foundation from which to launch deeper explorations of the subject matter. Not all youngsters will be developmentally ready to digest and comprehend the ideas presented, but precocious young scientists will doubtlessly benefit. The information and concepts are rather abstract, and not much explanation or detail is provided in the main text (“I am a fermion that can hardly be traced. I come in flavors but not ones you can taste”), but the backmatter provides more specifics and expounds upon unfamiliar terminology. Overall, this book would be a helpful addition to any science collection, though it’s best suited for more mature young readers.
A poetic, gently humorous introduction to the world of neutrino physics. (further reading) (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-2207-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: MIT Kids Press/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
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by Nick Seluk ; illustrated by Nick Seluk ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2019
A good overview of this complex, essential organ, with an energetic seasoning of silliness.
An introduction to the lead guitar and vocalist for the Brainiacs—the human brain.
The brain (familiar to readers of Seluk’s “The Awkward Yeti” webcomic, which spun off the adult title Heart and Brain, 2015) looks like a dodgeball with arms and legs—pinkish, sturdy, and roundish, with a pair of square-framed spectacles bestowing an air of importance and hipness. Other organs of the body—tongue, lungs, stomach, muscle, and heart—are featured as members of the brain’s rock band (the verso of the dust jacket is a poster of the band). Seluk’s breezy, conversational prose and brightly colored, boldly outlined cartoon illustrations deliver basic information. The brain’s role in keeping the heart beating and other automatic functions, directing body movements, interpreting sights and sounds, remembering smells and tastes, and regulating sleep and hunger are all explained, prose augmented by dialogue balloons and information sidebars. Seluk points out, importantly, that feelings originate in the brain: “You can control how you react…but your feelings happen no matter what.” The parodied album covers on the front endpapers (including the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Green Day, Run DMC, Queen, Nirvana) will amuse parents—or at least grandparents—and the rear endpapers serve up band members’ clever social media and texting screenshots. Backmatter includes a glossary and further brain trivia but no resources or bibliography.
A good overview of this complex, essential organ, with an energetic seasoning of silliness. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-16700-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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by Chelsea Clinton ; illustrated by Gianna Marino ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 2, 2019
A winning heads up for younger readers just becoming aware of the wider natural world.
An appeal to share concern for 12 familiar but threatened, endangered, or critically endangered animal species.
The subjects of Marino’s intimate, close-up portraits—fairly naturalistically rendered, though most are also smiling, glancing up at viewers through human eyes, and posed at rest with a cute youngling on lap or flank—steal the show. Still, Clinton’s accompanying tally of facts about each one’s habitat and daily routines, to which the title serves as an ongoing refrain, adds refreshingly unsentimental notes: “A single giraffe kick can kill a lion!”; “[S]hivers of whale sharks can sense a drop of blood if it’s in the water nearby, though they eat mainly plankton.” Along with tucking in collective nouns for each animal (some not likely to be found in major, or any, dictionaries: an “embarrassment” of giant pandas?), the author systematically cites geographical range, endangered status, and assumed reasons for that status, such as pollution, poaching, or environmental change. She also explains the specific meaning of “endangered” and some of its causes before closing with a set of doable activities (all uncontroversial aside from the suggestion to support and visit zoos) and a list of international animal days to celebrate.
A winning heads up for younger readers just becoming aware of the wider natural world. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-51432-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
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by Chelsea Clinton ; illustrated by Tania de Regil
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