Savvy, low-key, and lit occasionally by glints of humor.
General guidelines for distinguishing fake news from the more reality-based sort.
Without overburdening his middle-grade audience with emphatic warnings or frightening scenarios, Craigie presents a set of commonsense approaches to take toward questionable claims or reports—specifically those found online. After distinguishing between simple “misinformation” and more intentional “disinformation,” he lays out 10 ways that wary readers can tell the two apart, from investigating the author of the item and the host and history of the website where it appears to double-checking its date (to make sure it’s not April 1, if nothing else). Some of Craigie’s suggestions, such as reading a problematic story or entry all the way to the end rather than just going by its headline, aren’t commonly found in similar guides. Better yet, he expands his scope beyond practical techniques by, for instance, cautioning against falling into an informational “silo” that would limit exposure to different ideas and explaining why it’s so much healthier, intellectually speaking, to be a skeptic than a cynic. Though his book is light on specific examples of fake news, he does include a few examples, mostly for their entertainment value (“POPE ENDORSES TRUMP”). Sutradhar likewise livens up interspersed glimpses of racially diverse young information consumers with images of a caped super-librarian and monkeys swarming up a skyscraper.
Savvy, low-key, and lit occasionally by glints of humor. (resource lists, index) (Nonfiction. 10-13)Pub Date: Feb. 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781459840416
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
An introduction to ancient Egypt and the Pharaohs buried in the Valley of the Kings. The authors begin with how archaeologist Howard Carter found the tomb of King Tut, then move back 3,000 years to the time of Thutmosis I, who built the first tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Finally they describe the building of the tomb of a later Pharaoh, Ramses II. The backward-forward narration is not always easy to follow, and the authors attribute emotions to the Pharaohs without citation. For example, “Thutmosis III was furious [with Hatshepsut]. He was especially annoyed that she planned to be buried in KV 20, the tomb of her father.” Since both these people lived 3,500 years ago, speculation on who was furious or annoyed should be used with extreme caution. And the tangled intrigue of Egyptian royalty is not easily sorted out in so brief a work. Throughout, though, there are spectacular photographs of ancient Egyptian artifacts, monuments, tomb paintings, jewels, and death masks that will appeal to young viewers. The photographs of the exposed mummies of Ramses II, King Tut, and Seti I are compelling. More useful for the hauntingly beautiful photos than the text. (brief bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7922-7223-4
Page Count: 64
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s an eye-opening case study in how history and folklore can intertwine.
With assistance from Aronson, a veteran author/editor and nabob of nonfiction, Nelson recasts his adult title Steel Drivin’ Man: The Untold Story of an American Legend (2006) into a briefer account that not only suspensefully retraces his search for the man behind the ballad, but also serves as a useful introduction to historical-research methods.
Supported by a generous array of late-19th- and early-20th-century photos—mostly of chain-gang “trackliners” and other rail workers—the narrative pieces together clues from song lyrics, an old postcard, scattered business records and other sources, arriving finally at both a photo that just might be the man himself, and strong evidence of the drilling contest’s actual location. The author then goes on to make speculative but intriguing links between the trackliners’ work and the origins of the blues and rock-’n’-roll, and Aronson himself closes with an analytical appendix.
It’s an eye-opening case study in how history and folklore can intertwine. (maps, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-13)Pub Date: Dec. 11, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-4263-0000-4
Page Count: 64
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2007
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