Despite its flaws, an intriguing stab at bringing people of the world closer.
An attractive lift-the-flap book encourages children to learn about the world and its languages.
The book is positively festooned with flaps of varying sizes placed on maps. Most small flaps present the word for “hello” in the country or region it is placed upon; beneath are its phonetic pronunciation, the language name, and the number of speakers. Many double-page spreads are continental maps. The first spread features a world map with 10 widely spoken languages labeled, and the last shows this map again, with “good-bye” in these same languages along with several more beneath two large flaps. Unfortunately, the maps don’t include country names. Some places where languages matter are omitted; for example, the country of Belgium, with its French and Flemish speakers, doesn’t appear. There is a chart with eight major languages spoken in the U.S. There is no indication that English is the official language of Ghana and Nigeria, although the flap on Mali says that French is the official language in 25 African countries. Observant readers can search the continental maps for small people, generally pictured in traditional clothing with the retro look of old children’s atlases; the United States is represented by a white football player and Canada by a white voyageur, a white lumberjack, and a parka-clad Inuk.
Despite its flaws, an intriguing stab at bringing people of the world closer. (Informational novelty book. 7-11)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-944530-00-6
Page Count: 16
Publisher: 360 Degrees
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2016
A wild romp that champions making space for vulnerable creatures and each other.
A boy with ADHD explores nature and himself.
Eleven-year-old Jake Rizzi just wants to be seen as “normal”; he blames his brain for leading him into trouble and making him do things that annoy his peers and even his own parents. Case in point: He’s stuck spending a week in rural Oregon with an aunt he barely knows while his parents go on vacation. Jake’s reluctance changes as he learns about the town’s annual festival, during which locals search for a fabled turtle. But news of this possibly undiscovered species has spread. Although Aunt Hettle insists to Jake that it’s only folklore, the fame-hungry convene, sure that the Ruby-Backed Turtle is indeed real—just as Jake discovers is the case. Keeping its existence secret is critical to protecting the rare creature from a poacher and others with ill intentions. Readers will keep turning pages to find out how Jake and new friend Mia will foil the caricatured villains. Along the way, Bramucci packs in teachable moments around digital literacy, mindfulness, and ecological interdependence, along with the message that “the only way to protect the natural world is to love it.” Jake’s inner monologue elucidates the challenges and benefits of ADHD as well as practical coping strategies. Whether or not readers share Jake’s diagnosis, they’ll empathize with his insecurities. Jake and his family present white; Mia is Black, and names of secondary characters indicate some ethnic diversity.
A wild romp that champions making space for vulnerable creatures and each other. (Adventure. 8-11)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9781547607020
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Thought-provoking and charming.
A sophisticated robot—with the capacity to use senses of sight, hearing, and smell—is washed to shore on an island, the only robot survivor of a cargo of 500.
When otters play with her protective packaging, the robot is accidently activated. Roz, though without emotions, is intelligent and versatile. She can observe and learn in service of both her survival and her principle function: to help. Brown links these basic functions to the kind of evolution Roz undergoes as she figures out how to stay dry and intact in her wild environment—not easy, with pine cones and poop dropping from above, stormy weather, and a family of cranky bears. She learns to understand and eventually speak the language of the wild creatures (each species with its different “accent”). An accident leaves her the sole protector of a baby goose, and Roz must ask other creatures for help to shelter and feed the gosling. Roz’s growing connection with her environment is sweetly funny, reminiscent of Randall Jarrell’s The Animal Family. At every moment Roz’s actions seem plausible and logical yet surprisingly full of something like feeling. Robot hunters with guns figure into the climax of the story as the outside world intrudes. While the end to Roz’s benign and wild life is startling and violent, Brown leaves Roz and her companions—and readers—with hope.
Thought-provoking and charming. (Science fiction/fantasy. 7-11)Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-38199-4
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
SEEN & HEARD
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