A lovely and useful beginning.
Exercises and blank space provide nature explorers a way to record their observations.
The first 27 pages of this 80-page journal contain inspiration for what to record in art and words, along with simple instructions for how to do so. Each spread in this section focuses on one topic, such as pencil drawing, adding color, writing down questions, or recording your journey. Small text boxes highlight “Try This” ideas explorers can use to develop their nature journaling techniques. The remaining pages offer additional “Try This” exercises every five pages or so, sprinkled among blank pages for drawing, sketching, painting, and writing, some of which have smaller boxes to frame smaller sketches. The texture of the pages and their soft eggshell color make this book feel like a true artist’s delight. The guidance and exercises strike the perfect balance of encouragement and instruction, allowing explorers to observe, discover, and appreciate the natural world starting from where they are—and to try again if they aren’t satisfied with their results. There are instructions for sketching birds and insects, breaking down the body parts for artists to copy. The sample artwork throughout is skillful and beautiful but not intimidating; the visible strokes of pencil and brush imply that results can vary with attention and practice.
A lovely and useful beginning. (Nonfiction. 9-adult)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-943431-59-5
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Tumblehome Learning
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2020
Erupt into applause for this picture book of the first magma-tude.
A deceptively simple, visually appealing, comprehensive explanation of volcanoes.
Gibbons packs an impressive number of facts into this browsable nonfiction picture book. The text begins with the awe of a volcanic eruption: “The ground begins to rumble…ash, hot lava and rock, and gases shoot up into the air.” Diagrams of the Earth’s structural layers—inner and outer core, mantle, and crust—undergird a discussion about why volcanoes occur. Simple maps of the Earth’s seven major tectonic plates show where volcanoes are likeliest to develop. Other spreads with bright, clearly labeled illustrations cover intriguing subtopics: four types of volcanoes and how they erupt; underwater volcanoes; well-known volcanoes and historic volcanic eruptions around the world; how to be safe in the vicinity of a volcano; and the work of scientists studying volcanoes and helping to predict eruptions. A page of eight facts about volcanoes wraps things up. The straightforward, concise prose will be easy for young readers to follow. As always, Gibbons manages to present a great deal of information in a compact form.
Erupt into applause for this picture book of the first magma-tude. (Nonfiction picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4569-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
A gleeful game for budding naturalists.
Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.
In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781728271170
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
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