In this compact assortment of reports on high-interest (for some) topics, Stanley invites readers to meet the Elephant Man and Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy, to speculate on the pasts and futures of the “Monkey Boy of Uganda” and other feral children, to marvel over various brain injuries and disorders and to get squicked out from learning about the effects of Ebola (“It was soon discovered that the man’s internal organs had turned to liquid”) and other “Virulent Viruses.” The brain chapter is perhaps the least sensational and includes a brief profile of Oliver Sacks alongside mini-articles on phrenology, schizophrenia and lucid dreaming (and Phineas Gage and lobotomies—“least sensational” does not mean “unsensational”). Cochran’s full-page flights of fancy are oddly static, but along with the many pull quotes, boxed asides and black-and-white photos at least provide visual variety. Though this closes with distinctly anticlimactic “Medical Marvels Can Happen to You!” entries on yawning, sneezing and “brain freeze,” overall it’s well designed to attract children who are unenthusiastic readers. (notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4027-3930-9
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
Remarking that ``nothing about the weather is very simple,'' Simon goes on to describe how the sun, atmosphere, earth's rotation, ground cover, altitude, pollution, and other factors influence it; briefly, he also tells how weather balloons gather information. Even for this outstanding author, it's a tough, complex topic, and he's not entirely successful in simplifying it; moreover, the import of the striking uncaptioned color photos here isn't always clear. One passage—``Cumulus clouds sometimes build up into towering masses called cumulus congestus, or swelling cumulus, which may turn into cumulonimbus clouds''—is superimposed on a blue-gray, cloud-covered landscape. But which kind of clouds are these? Another photo, in blue-black and white, shows what might be precipitation in the upper atmosphere, or rain falling on a darkened landscape, or...? Generally competent and certainly attractive, but not Simon's best. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-688-10546-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1993
Miranda’s book counts the monsters gathering at a birthday party, while a simple rhyming text keeps the tally and surveys the action: “Seven starved monsters are licking the dishes./Eight blow out candles and make birthday wishes.” The counting proceeds to ten, then by tens to fifty, then gradually returns to one, which makes the monster’s mother, a purple pin-headed octopus, very happy. The book is surprisingly effective due to Powell’s artwork; the color has texture and density, as if it were poured onto the page, but the real attention-getter is the singularity of every monster attendee. They are highly individual and, therefore, eminently countable. As the numbers start crawling upward, it is both fun and a challenge to try to recognize monsters who have appeared in previous pages, or to attempt to stay focused when counting the swirling or bunched creatures. The story has glints of humor, and in combination with the illustrations is a grand addition to the counting shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201835-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
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