A treasure for browsers and bird lovers everywhere.
Yolen and her three children celebrate birds with a lavishly illustrated compendium of facts, photographs, and poetry.
This lovingly compiled collection begins with a lengthy section of articles describing birds, their anatomy, and their nests, and it ends with suggestions for attracting birds to your backyard. In between are chapters about prehistoric birds (dinosaurs), birds in history, state birds (each with a full-page photograph and two fast facts), listening to birds, looking at birds, bird migration, saving species, bird records, birds in the arts and in story, and citizen science. The authors of each text piece, song, and poem are identified in the backmatter; photo credits show that these splendid images come from around the world. There’s even a list of the scientific names of the birds in order of their appearance in the text. Dedicated to Yolen’s husband and the Stemples’ father, David Stemple, an ardent birder and bird-song recordist, this oversized volume is a treat to look at and to read. It includes a list of films to watch (“Birds are notoriously difficult to train to perform on stage or screen”), nicely retold myths and fables from around the world (with a map), two Audubon paintings, and carefully crafted poems including one about flock names. As is characteristic of National Geographic publications, the plentiful photographs are well-chosen and beautifully reproduced.
A treasure for browsers and bird lovers everywhere. (authors’ notes, acknowledgements, find out more, index) (Nonfiction. 8-adult)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4263-3181-7
Page Count: 192
Publisher: National Geographic Kids
Review Posted Online: July 31, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
Contentwise, an arbitrary assortment…but sure to draw fans of comics, of science, or of both.
Flash, Batman, and other characters from the DC Comics universe tackle supervillains and STEM-related topics and sometimes, both.
Credited to 20 writers and illustrators in various combinations, the 10 episodes invite readers to tag along as Mera and Aquaman visit oceanic zones from epipelagic to hadalpelagic; Supergirl helps a young scholar pick a science-project topic by taking her on a tour of the solar system; and Swamp Thing lends Poison Ivy a hand to describe how DNA works (later joining Swamp Kid to scuttle a climate-altering scheme by Arcane). In other episodes, various costumed creations explain the ins and outs of diverse large- and small-scale phenomena, including electricity, atomic structure, forensic techniques, 3-D printing, and the lactate threshold. Presumably on the supposition that the characters will be more familiar to readers than the science, the minilectures tend to start from simple basics, but the figures are mostly both redrawn to look more childlike than in the comics and identified only in passing. Drawing styles and page designs differ from chapter to chapter but not enough to interrupt overall visual unity and flow—and the cast is sufficiently diverse to include roles for superheroes (and villains) of color like Cyborg, Kid Flash, and the Latina Green Lantern, Jessica Cruz. Appended lists of websites and science-based YouTube channels, plus instructions for homespun activities related to each episode, point inspired STEM-winders toward further discoveries.
Contentwise, an arbitrary assortment…but sure to draw fans of comics, of science, or of both. (Graphic nonfiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77950-382-4
Page Count: 160
Publisher: DC
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The author of Cod (1997) successfully provides readers with a frightening look at the looming destruction of the oceans. Brief sections in graphic-novel format follow a young girl, Ailat, and her father over a couple of decades as the condition of the ocean grows increasingly dire, eventually an orange, slimy mess mostly occupied by jellyfish and leatherback turtles. At the end, Ailat’s young daughter doesn’t even know what the word fish means. This is juxtaposed against nonfiction chapters with topics including types of fishing equipment and the damage each causes, a history of the destruction of the cod and its consequences, the international politics of the fishing industry and the effects of pollution and global warming. The final chapter lists of some actions readers could take to attempt to reverse the damage: not eating certain types of fish, joining environmental groups, writing to government officials, picketing seafood stores that sell endangered fish, etc. Whenever an important point is to be made, font size increases dramatically, sometimes so that a single sentence fills a page—attention-getting but distractingly so. While it abounds with information, sadly, no sources are cited, undermining reliability. Additionally, there are no index and no recommended bibliography for further research, diminishing this effort’s value as a resource. Depressing and scary yet grimly entertaining. (Nonfiction/graphic-novel hybrid. 10 & up)
Pub Date: April 18, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7611-5607-9
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2011
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
