Enticing fare for fans of all things Paleo.
Up-close introductions to seven Paleozoic monsters, with some outsized modern survivors added for good measure.
Writing with crowd-pleasing vivacity—Arthropleura “was bigger than a basketball player. And with up to 80 quick-moving, grasping legs, it could have easily gripped and smothered one too!”—Becker profiles a set of humongous arthropods that, in Bindon’s exactly detailed scenes, crawl, slither, glide, swim, or fly past with all-too-convincing realism. All come with (fossil) range maps and human silhouettes for size comparisons, and most are placed in natural settings, with other fauna of the period visible in the backgrounds. In her descriptive notes, the author maintains a proper caution, following current thinking in suggesting that heightened levels of atmospheric oxygen made such uncommon mass possible but noting that “fave snacks,” life cycles, and causes of extinction are speculations. Following the prehistoric parade, a select set of today’s biggest creepy-crawlies bring up the rear, capped by a menacing science-fictional megabug that looks like an ant-scorpion hybrid. Though no replacement for Timothy Bradley’s (sadly out of print) Paleo Bugs (2008) for those lucky enough still to have it, the art here has more of a dramatic flair, and the resource lists at the end are fresher.
Enticing fare for fans of all things Paleo. (glossary, timeline, index) (Informational picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-77138-811-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
An affectionate picture of bears and bear scientists, capped with a page of moon bear facts and an afterword.
Not one but three roly-poly moon bear cubs star in this true animal rescue tale.
Orphaned by poachers, Yasha, joined later by Shum and Shiksha, are nurtured by Pokrovskaya and another scientist for nearly two years on a game preserve until they were ready to be released into the Siberian wild. Taking a slightly anthropomorphized bear’s-eye point of view (“Yasha was happy with his new home”), Kvatum chronicles the cubs’ development as they learn to forage on their own while playing together and learning to climb trees. She also notes how important it is for human observers to remain aloof—minimizing physical contact and even wearing scent-concealing clothing—to prevent the animals from becoming dependent or domesticated. Looking positively fetching in the big, color photos, shaggy Yasha and his ursine cohorts grow visibly as they ramble through woodsy settings, splash in a river and survive an encounter with a prowling tiger before being deemed ready to live on their own.
An affectionate picture of bears and bear scientists, capped with a page of moon bear facts and an afterword. (map, bibliography) (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: July 10, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4263-1051-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2012
For elementary school readers, there are plenty of better introductions than this concoction, including Caroline Arnold and...
This collection of topically organized factoids about the whale family shares the flaws of others in the publisher’s Explorers series: an overbusy design; unrealistic, digitally assembled photo pastiches; and a series of useless “buttons” that purport to lead readers on a topic trail.
Two by two, the double-page spreads introduce cetaceans (a word not used in the book) as mammals, their ocean home, food, birth and family life, migration, river dolphins, and watching and saving whales. On each page are paragraphs of information, text boxes and a photo riddle; on pages with photo montages are numbered captions. Except for the pages on the birth of a whale, which feature sperm whales, these spreads include a variety of species. The composite illustrations show scenes that would be improbable in real life: Gray whales leap and spyhop over a leatherback sea turtle, a manta ray and a school of anchovies; whale watchers see, all at once, minke and right whales, a breaching humpback, dolphins and harbor seals. The photographs come from a variety of commercial libraries, but there are no sources offered for the information nor suggestions for further research. The index is extensive but doesn’t include every animal mentioned.
For elementary school readers, there are plenty of better introductions than this concoction, including Caroline Arnold and Patricia J. Wynne’s Super Swimmers (2007). (Nonfiction. 7-10)Pub Date: July 16, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7534-6815-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kingfisher
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2013
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