Readers who took these plants for granted before may well not do so anymore.
A collection of stories that will enlighten readers on the fascinating and often tragic history behind the blue jeans they wear, the French fries and chocolate they consume, and the pepper and sugar they use for flavor.
Richardson presents brief but informative overviews of the impact 10 plants had upon history and civilization. The only plant readers may be completely unfamiliar with is cinchona, the bark of which is used to produce quinine for malaria. How cotton affected the slave trade, how papyrus enabled the wide dissemination of knowledge, how rubber revolutionized transportation, and how pepper—or the control of its trade—provoked wars are among the stories told. A superfluous fiction scenario begins each chapter and is followed by informational text about the plant, its historical background and now-familiar applications. The tea chapter is representative, leading off with “Edward” at the Boston Tea Party and then tracing tea’s spread from China and Japan to Europe, exploring its role in the opium economy, describing its processing and explaining its social significance. Color illustrations serve more of a decorative than explanatory purpose.
Readers who took these plants for granted before may well not do so anymore. (maps, bibliography, suggestions for further reading) (Nonfiction. 9-12)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-55451-445-8
Page Count: 132
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
In this glossy photo essay, the author briefly recounts the study and exploration of the moon, beginning with Stonehenge and concluding with the 1998–99 unmanned probe, Lunar Prospector. Most of the dramatic photographs come from NASA and will introduce a new generation of space enthusiasts to the past missions of Project Mercury, Gemini, and most especially the moon missions, Apollo 1–17. There are plenty of photographs of various astronauts in space capsules, space suits, and walking on the moon. Sometimes photographs are superimposed one on another, making it difficult to read. For example, one photograph shows the command module Columbia as photographed from the lunar module and an insert shows the 15-layer space suit and gear Neil Armstrong would wear for moonwalking. That’s a lot to process on one page. Still, the awesome images of footprints on the moon, raising the American flag, and earthrise from the moon, cannot help but raise shivers. The author concludes with a timeline of exploration, Web sites, recommended books, and picture credits. For NASA memorabilia collectors, end papers show the Apollo space badges for missions 11–17. Useful for replacing aging space titles. (Nonfiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-57091-408-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
Most children know what an astronaut is, but an aquanaut? Not so common. Focusing on a one-week expedition in the underwater science station Aquarius, Mallory and marine photographer Skerry literally immerse themselves in this adventure. The science station is an 80-ton cylindrical steel chamber that's like “a mobile home someone has driven into the ocean.” The team's project is to electronically tag fish and observe their daily habits. The narrative chronicles the safety training needed before the expedition, the implantation of tags or pingers inside the fish and the day-to-day experience of living 60 feet below the ocean’s surface. What do aquanauts eat? Can you make telephone calls and send e-mails? And most importantly—is it possible for a toilet to explode from too much pressure? (Answer: yes.) Full-page interludes on topics such as sea-habitat history and the importance of decompression are disruptive at times but ultimately add to the understanding of this undersea adventure. A rather dry design aside, this book intrigues. (introduction, further reading, glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59078-607-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: Jan. 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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