The approach has promise, but there’s not enough focus on accuracy to carry the payload.
An introduction to the solar system in charts, graphics, and comparisons.
The heavily stylized graphics sow more confusion than insight from the beginning, which is a planetary lineup in which Uranus is depicted as smaller than Mars and one of two versions of Earth as the size of Jupiter. Throughout, the visuals are a mix of images that are not to scale, confusingly marked, or just filler—like the 10 solid dots intended to represent Jupiter’s 9.8-hour rotation that show no change other than a nearly imperceptible shift from pale peach to light orange. With like obscurity, the accompanying captions deliver such factoids as “The Solar System is shaped like an egg,” and Mars “is approximately 6 times smaller than Earth.” The co-published Weather Infographics does no better: the average temperature of lightning (20,000 C) is visualized as an arbitrary 100 tiny ovens (four of which are inexplicably printed in red); and a sample weather forecast is a set of dim, tiny icons on a cellphone, only one of which is identified. Both volumes close with poorly designed science activities (“At night time, go outside and look for three bright stars that are almost in a straight line”).
The approach has promise, but there’s not enough focus on accuracy to carry the payload. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 7-10)Pub Date: May 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-78637-080-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Booklife/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An exuberant portrayal of a girl with hearing restrictions reaching for the stars.
Astrid, a spunky, smart California third grader, has great aspirations.
She will become “the first astronaut with hearing aids,” a possibility that is treated very naturally within this story, the first in a new chapter book series. Joining the Shooting Stars, an after-school club devoted to all things space, has long been part of Astrid’s “Astronomically Grand Plan.” Though Astrid wants to go to space camp, it’s expensive, but a scholarship is available for the Shooting Stars student who earns the most points for completing the STEM-oriented Astro Missions. She discovers another problem when she realizes that her best friend, Hallie, is more interested in art than in STEM and joins the Petite Picassos club. How can Astrid navigate Shooting Stars without her BFF, especially when she and her teammate Veejay don’t start out well? Club teacher Ms. Ruiz stresses creativity and partnership, and math and science enthusiasts will be attracted to this book, but the real emphasis is on relationships. Astrid must befriend Hallie again after voicing her disappointment with her interests and learn to be a good teammate. Astrid is likable, and her story, told in first person, realistically explores her hearing issues, her initial problem-solving failures, and her successes. Black-and-white illustrations depict Astrid (wearing her hearing aids) and her family as light-skinned, though other students appear to be racially diverse, and Hallie is cued as Asian.
An exuberant portrayal of a girl with hearing restrictions reaching for the stars. (Chapter book. 7-10)Pub Date: July 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8148-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
An absorbing read that balances lessons about friendship and science.
When a hurricane threatens to ruin Diwali, teamwork—and a little bit of magic—is all a young Indian girl needs to save the day.
It’s Diwali, and Sejal, 8, can’t wait to draw rangoli, light sparklers, and devour a traditional Indian feast with her family, including her younger brother, Abu, her older cousin Mira, and her dog, Fluff Monster. But then a hurricane threatens to put a damper on the festivities. Determined to save the day, Sejal gathers up Professor Cheetah, her “best stuffie friend,” and hops into her cardboard box, which, with a little bit of magic, transforms into a “hurricane-hunting aircraft.” She’s soon joined by a frantic Abu, an enthusiastic Fluff Monster, and a reluctant Mira, who no longer believes in cardboard-box magic. It isn’t until the team meets a group of scientists in the center of the storm that Mira admits that magic is just as real as science—and that some jobs require a degree of imagination that only children possess. Prasad layers the narrative with internal and external conflicts, investing just as much importance in Sejal’s determination to salvage her relationship with her cousin as she does in the children’s mission to save Diwali. At its best, Sejal’s narratorial voice crackles with intelligence and perseverance; at times, however, the language is a bit clunky. Overall, though, the book is a well-plotted, entertaining story about science, tradition, creative thinking, and growing up.
An absorbing read that balances lessons about friendship and science. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781665911788
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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