A joyous, lyrical celebration of planetary life.
Eons ago, a collision between a rock and Earth gave birth to new life.
Krossing argues that humans exist in large part because “one cosmic rock”—an asteroid—struck Earth 66 million years ago, transforming the planet and wiping out dinosaurs, among other forms of life. She raises the stakes by directly addressing “you,” pulling readers into this story of the rock “that would reshape / life on your planet forever.” Eloquent, active language propels the narrative: “The air flared so hot that plants burst into flames.” “Yet, as the world burned, some small life-forms found shelter.” Succinct descriptions of asteroid survivors follow: “Buried roots and seeds waited to sprout again.” “Insects buzzed. Ferns unfurled.” Vasileva’s richly colored, moody galaxies are paired with images of blue skies and quizzical prehistoric creatures, followed by an illustration with the look of an undersea musical, featuring squids and crustaceans that seem ready to launch into song. The artist deftly evokes strong emotions, as in a spread about extinction bursting with ghostly white shapes of long-gone dinos pressed against a gray sky; another page depicts an adult holding up a child to the sky, both speckled with stars reminiscent of the book’s opening—the moment when your life, each of our lives, arose from stars. Krossing adds oomph with onomatopoeic interludes, from the first “TUG!” of gravity to the “FLASH!” and “CRASH!” of that one cosmic rock.
A joyous, lyrical celebration of planetary life. (more information on the asteroid, glossary, sources) (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781771475594
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
An arguable error of omission and definite errors of commission sink this otherwise attractive effort.
A look at the unique ways that 11 globe-spanning animal species construct their homes.
Each creature garners two double-page spreads, which Cherrix enlivens with compelling and at-times jaw-dropping facts. The trapdoor spider constructs a hidden burrow door from spider silk. Sticky threads, fanning from the entrance, vibrate “like a silent doorbell” when walked upon by unwitting insect prey. Prairie dogs expertly dig communal burrows with designated chambers for “sleeping, eating, and pooping.” The largest recorded “town” occupied “25,000 miles and housed as many as 400 million prairie dogs!” Female ants are “industrious insects” who can remove more than a ton of dirt from their colony in a year. Cathedral termites use dirt and saliva to construct solar-cooled towers 30 feet high. Sasaki’s lively pictures borrow stylistically from the animal compendiums of mid-20th-century children’s lit; endpapers and display type elegantly suggest the blues of cyanotypes and architectural blueprints. Jarringly, the lead spread cheerfully extols the prowess of the corals of the Great Barrier Reef, “the world’s largest living structure,” while ignoring its accelerating, human-abetted destruction. Calamitously, the honeybee hive is incorrectly depicted as a paper-wasps’ nest, and the text falsely states that chewed beeswax “hardens into glue to shape the hive.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An arguable error of omission and definite errors of commission sink this otherwise attractive effort. (selected sources) (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-5625-9
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
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