Like a solar eclipse, this theatrical work of nonfiction is not to be missed.
Rich, poetic language explains the process of a total solar eclipse and ponders its effects on the living creatures below.
With a sweeping sense of scope and scale, the author presents the solar eclipse as a luminous stage show that humans are occasionally privileged to view, a part of a dazzling cycle that’s played out for millennia. The meditative verse offers enough factual information and terminology to make this an excellent choice for a science lesson, with readers gaining a solid sense of exactly what happens during the eclipse, especially when the text is combined with the clear and well-sourced backmatter. But at its heart, this is a story about the shared bonds of humanity, and Fox makes this grandiose cosmic event feel intimate and immediate. Jewel-toned illustrations depict racially diverse characters joyfully gathering together as communities, watching with family and neighbors from beaches and parks. As the moon makes its move “into the spotlight,” the paper-doll–like characters watching the eclipse are left bonded: “Once strangers, now we are friends.” Especially effective are the incandescent double-page spreads showing the moving celestial bodies. Lush turns of phrase such as a vast sky “velvet panorama” are captivating to read aloud, while the repetitive refrain “a few beautiful minutes”—referring to the brief length of time of an eclipse—anchors the experience. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Like a solar eclipse, this theatrical work of nonfiction is not to be missed. (information on solar eclipses, selected resources, timeline of an eclipse, instructions on building a sun viewer) (Informational picture book. 6-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316416924
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book.
Ada Twist’s incessant stream of questions leads to answers that help solve a neighborhood crisis.
Ada conducts experiments at home to answer questions such as, why does Mom’s coffee smell stronger than Dad’s coffee? Each answer leads to another question, another hypothesis, and another experiment, which is how she goes from collecting data on backyard birds for a citizen-science project to helping Rosie Revere figure out how to get her uncle Ned down from the sky, where his helium-filled “perilous pants” are keeping him afloat. The Questioneers—Rosie the engineer, Iggy Peck the architect, and Ada the scientist—work together, asking questions like scientists. Armed with knowledge (of molecules and air pressure, force and temperature) but more importantly, with curiosity, Ada works out a solution. Ada is a recognizable, three-dimensional girl in this delightfully silly chapter book: tirelessly curious and determined yet easily excited and still learning to express herself. If science concepts aren’t completely clear in this romp, relationships and emotions certainly are. In playful full- and half-page illustrations that break up the text, Ada is black with Afro-textured hair; Rosie and Iggy are white. A closing section on citizen science may inspire readers to get involved in science too; on the other hand, the “Ode to a Gas!” may just puzzle them. Other backmatter topics include the importance of bird study and the threat palm-oil use poses to rainforests.
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3422-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Affecting and hopeful.
A stray dog finds her destiny amid the chaos of a Southern California wildfire.
Wombat is a small dog with stubby legs and “silly ears / that look like furry cookies”—almost impossibly cute in Bricking’s occasional pencil-style vignettes. She’s mastered the art of survival, so when a mysterious internal voice prods her to go toward the fire, she resists. “The wrong way is the right way. / The right way is the wrong way,” the voice insists. When she tells fellow stray Silas about it, he tells Wombat she’s a “destiny dog,” bound to “find their person / before their person / can find them.” Convinced, she decides to follow the mysterious instructions. Meanwhile, Henry, a boy who’s leery of dogs, loves the bats at the wildlife rehabilitation center where Mama Ro, a veterinarian, works; his Mama J is a librarian. Henry and Barnabas, a fruit bat at the center, are both uprooted by the fire, and their paths converge with Wombat’s at an emergency shelter. The third-person perspective shifts from character to character in clusters of free-verse poems that fully immerse readers in each one’s experiences in turn. This extra-concentrated delivery of Applegate’s typically spare writing proves effective, balancing terror and sadness with heart and humor. Henry has light brown skin, Mama Ro has curly black hair and brown skin, and Mama J presents white.
Affecting and hopeful. (Verse fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9780063221178
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Storytide/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
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