A science book with just enough story to it.
Anthony Briggs has many reasons to hate pigeons, including the fact that the class bully has been calling him Pidge for years, but when studying them could earn him an overnight at the natural history museum, he learns to appreciate the creatures.
Anthony, a black New Yorker, dinosaur enthusiast, fantasy comic-book creator, and leg brace–wearing kid with Blount’s disease, wavers over whether or not to join the Science Squad but decides that even though it means studying “garbage-eating rat-birds,” he wants the museum overnight badly enough to do it. His friend Jasmine joins, but so does Jasmine’s other friend, Ivy, and the class bully, TJ, who never misses an opportunity to pick on Anthony. When everyone partners up to collect data in pairs, guess whom Anthony is left to work with? It’s not all bad though. After some difficult moments, Anthony learns not to shrink when ridiculed, and he learns that sometimes people lash out because they’re upset over something else. Anthony works hard to earn the Science Squad badges, and he becomes protective of a pigeon with a bum leg who reminds him of his own vulnerability. Anthony is a likable character who name-checks familiar books in his chatty narrative, and his classmates are a mirror of New York’s diversity. However, the journal conceit is a thinly veiled attempt to dump science information into readers, so the book will succeed best with true science enthusiasts.
A science book with just enough story to it. (note on urban bird-watching, glossary, bibliography) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-63163-188-7
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Jolly Fish Press
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Certain to steal hearts.
In this follow-up to 2020’s The One and Only Bob, Ruby the elephant is still living at Wildworld Zoological Park and Sanctuary.
She’s apprehensive about her Tuskday, a rite of passage for young elephants when she’ll give a speech in front of the rest of the herd. Luckily, she can confide in her Uncle Ivan, who is next door in Gorilla World, and Uncle Bob, the dog who lives nearby with human friend Julia. Ruby was born in an unspecified part of Africa, later ending up on display in the mall, where she met Ivan, Bob, and Julia. The unexpected arrival of someone from Ruby’s past life on the savanna revives memories both warmly nostalgic and deeply traumatic. An elephant glossary and Castelao’s charming, illustrated guide to elephant body language help immerse readers in Ruby’s world. Goofy, playful, and mischievous Ruby is fully dimensional, as she has shown her bravery during the many hardships of her young life. Applegate deftly tempers themes of grief and loss with compassion and humor as Ruby finds her place in the herd. The author’s note touches on climate change, the illegal ivory trade, and conservation efforts, but the highly emotive framing of the story through the memories of a bewildered baby elephant emphasizes the impact of lines such as “ ‘in Africa,’ I say softly, ‘there were bad people,’ ” without offering readers a nuanced understanding of the broader context that drives poaching.
Certain to steal hearts. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780063080089
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey.
Separated from his pack, Swift, a young wolf, embarks on a perilous search for a new home.
Swift’s mother impresses on him early that his “pack belongs to the mountains and the mountains belong to the pack.” His father teaches him to hunt elk, avoid skunks and porcupines, revere the life that gives them life, and “carry on” when their pack is devastated in an attack by enemy wolves. Alone and grieving, Swift reluctantly leaves his mountain home. Crossing into unfamiliar territory, he’s injured and nearly dies, but the need to run, hunt, and live drives him on. Following a routine of “walk-trot-eat-rest,” Swift traverses prairies, canyons, and deserts, encountering men with rifles, hunger, thirst, highways, wild horses, a cougar, and a forest fire. Never imagining the “world could be so big or that I could be so alone in it,” Swift renames himself Wander as he reaches new mountains and finds a new home. Rife with details of the myriad scents, sounds, tastes, touches, and sights in Swift/Wander’s primal existence, the immediacy of his intimate, first-person, present-tense narration proves deeply moving, especially his longing for companionship. Realistic black-and-white illustrations trace key events in this unique survival story, and extensive backmatter fills in further factual information about wolves and their habitat.
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey. (additional resources, map) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-289593-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
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