The vibrant history that unfolds will hold children’s attention through repeated viewings.
Beavers, oysters, and elm trees; the Lenape people, those who were enslaved, and those who immigrated; and subways, skyscrapers, and Superstorm Sandy fill the pages of a street-by-street chronicle of this incredible island.
Thermes opens with glaciers and moves on through the Mannahatta of the Lenape clans and the Manhattan of the Dutch and the English. Central to the formatting of both the book and New York City is the Plan of 1811 that established a grid pattern for the streets of the island north of Lower Manhattan. Central Park is developed, tenements are built to house poor immigrants, subways and bridges expand the island to neighboring locales, and tall buildings fill the horizon. Thermes does not shy from the violence of the city’s history, providing, for instance, an informative sidebar about Seneca Village, established by free blacks and destroyed by eminent domain to build Central Park. The highlights of the book are the many sequential maps, drawn in watercolor, pencil, and ink. They include, in very legible hand-lettering, street names and references to sites mentioned in the text. Horses, dogs, and young children, both white and of color, stroll along. Other pages vary from full-page vistas of Central Park, fires, subways, and snowstorms to spot art featuring bridges, birds, and the harbor.
The vibrant history that unfolds will hold children’s attention through repeated viewings. (afterword, timeline, select sources) (Informational picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3655-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.
This book is buzzing with trivia.
Follow a swarm of bees as they leave a beekeeper’s apiary in search of a new home. As the scout bees traverse the fields, readers are provided with a potpourri of facts and statements about bees. The information is scattered—much like the scout bees—and as a result, both the nominal plot and informational content are tissue-thin. There are some interesting facts throughout the book, but many pieces of trivia are too, well trivial, to prove useful. For example, as the bees travel, readers learn that “onion flowers are round and fluffy” and “fennel is a plant that is used in cooking.” Other facts are oversimplified and as a result are not accurate. For example, monofloral honey is defined as “made by bees who visit just one kind of flower” with no acknowledgment of the fact that bees may range widely, and swarm activity is described as a springtime event, when it can also occur in summer and early fall. The information in the book, such as species identification and measurement units, is directed toward British readers. The flat, thin-lined artwork does little to enhance the story, but an “I spy” game challenging readers to find a specific bee throughout is amusing.
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere. (Informational picture book. 8-10)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-500-65265-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe.
An introduction to gravity.
The book opens with the most iconic demonstration of gravity, an apple falling. Throughout, Herz tackles both huge concepts—how gravity compresses atoms to form stars and how black holes pull all kinds of matter toward them—and more concrete ones: how gravity allows you to jump up and then come back down to the ground. Gravity narrates in spare yet lyrical verse, explaining how it creates planets and compresses atoms and comparing itself to a hug. “My embrace is tight enough that you don’t float like a balloon, but loose enough that you can run and leap and play.” Gravity personifies itself at times: “I am stubborn—the bigger things are, the harder I pull.” Beautiful illustrations depict swirling planets and black holes alongside racially diverse children playing, running, and jumping, all thanks to gravity. Thorough backmatter discusses how Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity and explains Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. While at times Herz’s explanations may be a bit too technical for some readers, burgeoning scientists will be drawn in.
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe. (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: April 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668936849
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tilbury House
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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