An exploration of some of the major features of Earth’s oceans, with interspersed minicomic episodes starring the author as Capt. Aquatica and a great hammerhead shark as her sidekick, Finn.
This third in the Science Superheroes series is presented by a white American researcher, marine conservationist, and National Geographic–funded “Explorer” currently living, working, and advocating for sharks in the Cook Islands in the South Pacific. Chapter by chapter, she and her co-authors describe the connected oceans that cover about three-fourths of our planet. They consider water movements and storms; examine the tidal and ocean zones and ocean floor; explain various ecosystems; introduce some sharks; survey the history of underwater exploration; and conclude with a section on environmental threats and what can be done. Text boxes introduce a dozen marine scientists, male and female, from varying times and places; several are people of color. Numerous photos and diagrams with informative captions also help break up a relatively dense text. Speech bubbles in the superhero comic sections separating the chapters are numbered so that readers can easily follow the conversation. For the most part the information is accurate though not always explained clearly. (Describing tides, the writers state that a water bulge also forms on the side of the Earth farthest from the moon “because of inertia.”) The introduction clearly distinguishes the fantasy of the comic sections from the factual exposition.
Readers able to navigate a heavy sea of information will enjoy the trip. (afterword, glossary, index, credits and image credits, resources) (Nonfiction. 11-15)Pub Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4263-3292-0
Page Count: 128
Publisher: National Geographic Kids
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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With an amped-up sense of wonder, the Science Guy surveys the natural universe.
Starting from first principles like the scientific method, Nye and his co-author marvel at the “Amazing Machine” that is the human body then go on to talk up animals, plants, evolution, physics and chemistry, the quantum realm, geophysics, and climate change. They next venture out into the solar system and beyond. Along with tallying select aspects and discoveries in each chapter, the authors gather up “Massively Important” central concepts, send shoutouts to underrecognized women scientists like oceanographer Marie Tharp, and slip in directions for homespun experiments and demonstrations. They also challenge readers to ponder still-unsolved scientific posers and intersperse rousing quotes from working scientists about how exciting and wide open their respective fields are. If a few of those fields, like the fungal kingdom, get short shrift (one spare paragraph notwithstanding), readers are urged often enough to go look things up for themselves to kindle a compensatory habit. Aside from posed photos of Nye and a few more of children (mostly presenting as White) doing science-y things, the full-color graphic and photographic images not only reflect the overall “get this!” tone but consistently enrich the flow of facts and reflections. “Our universe is a strange and surprising place,” Nye writes. “Stay curious.” Words to live by.
Wordplay and wry wit put extra fun into a trove of fundamental knowledge. (contributors, art credits, selected bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 11-15)Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4676-5
Page Count: 264
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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BOOK REVIEW
A compendium of all things oceanic, from surface to depths, covering biology, geology, coasts, climatic phenomena, and human use and abuse.
Considering the size of the general topic, the coverage isn’t as shallow as it might be. Hundreds of crisply professional nature photos and big, easy-to-follow charts and diagrams anchor waves of densely packed but often breezy commentary (“Many parrotfish species also make their own sleeping bags at night—out of mucus!”) that Wilsdon pours in beneath such headers as “It’s a Shore Thing” and “Belize It or Not!” Overviews of each ocean, of plate tectonics, the action and effects of ocean currents, worldwide climate change, and physical features from islands to abyssal plains sail by in succession, but marine biology takes pride of place with page after page of photogenic sea life from tiny krill on up to whales and polar bears. The author profiles a marine ecologist and interviews an oceanographer to cap chapters on modern research, exploration, and industries, then closes with generous lists of sites to visit physically or virtually.
A stimulating plunge for casual browsers and serious students alike. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 11-14)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4263-2550-2
Page Count: 272
Publisher: National Geographic Kids
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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