Not even Arthus-Bertrand’s fascinating aerial photos can rescue this wretched companion to Future of the Earth: An Introduction to Sustainable Development for Young Readers (2004). Subtitled “A Story of People, Ecology, and Preservation,” the coffee-table–style volume sends viewers soaring randomly about the planet at low altitudes in a series of chapters on “Oceans,” “Food” and like topics. Surrounding the photos (some of which fans of the photographer will have seen before) are small, generic, crudely done supplemental illustrations, along with brief passages of text laced with unsourced facts (or entirely wrong ones, such as a claim that the Baltic is a landlocked sea) and vague warnings of ecological peril. The writing is sophomoric (“Hunting is responsible for the decline of 95 percent of hippopotamuses since 1994”; “1.2 billion people do not have access to drinking water”) with occasional descents into meaninglessness (“The Coastline: An Invisible Oasis”), and a near-total lack of direct references to the subjects of the photos. Candy for the eye, but empty calories for the brain. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-8109-7132-5
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2008
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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