STEM storytelling done right.
Inspired by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s beloved jellyfish exhibits, this read-aloud-friendly picture book skillfully blends poetry and marine biology.
Jameson’s buoyant text—structured as a guessing game—showcases a new fact every two pages. Well pitched to its young audience, the writing builds anticipation through simple rhyming stanzas that culminate in a one-word reveal: “Jellies round, / jellies square, / simply plain or full of flair. / A dazzling mix of shapes and types! / There’s even one with purple / STRIPES!” (Remarkably, the rhyme scheme remains flawless even when incorporating specific terminology such as “Jellies feel / jellies sense— / A nerve net is the evidence.”) Hermansson’s candy-hued digital illustrations complement the verse’s playful tone, offering visual interest that will appeal to varied attention spans. The jellyfish dance across each spread in oranges, yellows, purples, and blues, set against saturated teal and navy backdrops. Plentiful backmatter goes into more detail about concepts introduced in the main text. Keen-eyed readers can use the visual dictionary of species to spot their favorites on each page. The backmatter also points readers to a citizen scientist website where they can get involved in tracking jellies. Meanwhile, illustrated endpapers showcase people of diverse ages, skin tones, hair styles, and abilities as they enjoy a visit to the aquarium.
STEM storytelling done right. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 21, 2026
ISBN: 9781797221977
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
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
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on.
Sharpson offers so-fish-ticated readers a heads up about the true terror of the seas.
The title says it all. Our unseen narrator is just fine with other animals: mammals. Reptiles. Even birds. But fish? Don’t trust them! First off, the rules always seem to change with fish. Some live in fresh water; some reside in salt water. Some have gills, while others have lungs. You can never see what they’re up to, since they hang out underwater, and they’re always eating those poor, innocent crabs. Soon, the narrator introduces readers to Jeff, a vacant-eyed yellow fish—but don’t be fooled! Jeff’s “the craftiest fish of all.” All fish are, apparently, hellbent on world domination, the narrator warns. “DON’T TRUST FISH!” Finally, at the tail end, we get a sly glimpse of our unreliable narrator. Readers needn’t be ichthyologists to appreciate Sharpson’s meticulous comic timing. (“Ships always sink at sea. They never sink on land. Isn’t that strange?”) His delightful text, filled to the brim with jokes that read aloud brilliantly, pairs perfectly with Santat’s art, which shifts between extreme realism and goofy hilarity. He also fills the book with his own clever gags (such as an image of Gilligan’s Island’s S.S. Minnow going down and a bottle of sauce labeled “Surly Chik’n Srir’racha’r”).
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 8, 2025
ISBN: 9780593616673
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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