A solid springboard for budding birders.
A child spends the day outside observing nesting, fledging, and feeding birds.
Billy is an avid bird-watcher and shows readers some tricks, including attracting birds with various feeders to closely observe them, watching nest cameras on the internet, using binoculars to get a closer view, and visiting nest boxes. Pages from Billy’s sketchbook show readers various nests and beaks, and Billy uses books as references when looking for information. Billy’s friends each have their own interests (Bella—bugs, Ava—animals, Pedro—the environment), but they share their friend’s enthusiasm and are good listeners, and all demonstrate solid science skills, constantly wondering and asking questions about what they observe and keeping safety tips in mind. Billy’s enthusiasm is contagious, and this book will be a good starting point for bird-watching beginners, though they may need other resources to fill gaps. For instance, only a few of the species pictured are identified; Billy provides facts about beaks, but these do not consistently link shape and diet. There are also some missing or incorrect facts: The book describes owl pellets but doesn’t explain how they are expelled, and there’s contradictory information regarding when fledged chicks have to fend for themselves. The bright cartoon illustrations use full-page, two-page, spot, and boxed illustrations; Billy’s drawings appear childlike, and excerpts from reference books are more sophisticated. Billy is brown-skinned, his friends are racially diverse, and Pedro uses hearing aids. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A solid springboard for budding birders. (how to be a nature hero: birds) (Informational picture book. 4-10)Pub Date: April 19, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-7112-6558-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Happy Yak
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
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
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
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