With its elegant layout, gorgeous illustrations, and thoughtful text, this book presents an interesting and focused subject...
A larger-than-usual–format picture book reveals a different side to creatures commonly considered dangerous, scary, or creepy.
There are always two sides to a story, and creatures that are often feared or reviled, such as sharks or spiders, have qualities that may not be known to readers—qualities that are cleverly revealed in this thoughtfully designed, beautifully illustrated picture book. The first verso of each four-page sequence features a striking black-and-white illustration of an animal (or insect or arachnid). This is paired on the first recto with a one-word description in a clean sans-serif typeface—for example, the word paired with the spider is “Creepy….” The page turn reveals another word on verso in the same sans-serif typeface that modifies the original description—the spider’s is “crafter”—to highlight another aspect of the creature; below this there is more explanation: Spiders have “many superhero-like qualities” and “spin intricate webs” that are “stronger than steel” for their weight. Smith’s accompanying artwork—now subtly colored, with a cozier, slightly stylized look, and placed on the recto—illustrates the newly revealed characteristic. Gardner’s text doesn’t overwhelm with too much information, just a few well-chosen facts to tempt readers into thoughtful reconsiderations of hyenas, lions, elephants, rhinoceroses, sharks, gorillas, wolves, porcupines, honeybees, octopuses, spiders, and bats.
With its elegant layout, gorgeous illustrations, and thoughtful text, this book presents an interesting and focused subject in an exemplary manner. (further reading) (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-274161-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
PERSPECTIVES
A lyrical and educational look at the water cycle.
Through many types of weather and the different seasons, water tells readers about its many forms.
“Sometimes I’m the rain cloud / and sometimes I’m the rain.” Water can make rainbows and can appear to be different colors. Water is a waterfall, a wave, an ocean swell, a frozen pond, the snow on your nose, a cloud, frost, a comet, a part of you. Throughout, Paterson’s rhyming verses evoke images of their own: “Soon the summer sun is back / and warms me with its rays. / I rise in rumbling thunderheads / like castles in the haze,” though at times word order seems to have been chosen for rhyme rather than meaning (“In fall I sink into a fog / and blanket chilly fields, / with pumpkins touched by morning frost / the harvest season yields”). Backmatter includes a diagram of the water cycle that introduces and describes each step with solid vocabulary, including “Collection” as a step in the process; “The Science Behind the Poetry,” which unpacks some of the poetic language and phrases; some water activities and explorations; conservation tips; and a list of other books from the publisher about water. Paterson’s full- and double-page–spread illustrations are just as magical as his verse, showing water in its many forms from afar and close up. Few people appear on his pages, but the vast majority of those are people of color.
A lyrical and educational look at the water cycle. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-58469-615-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dawn Publications
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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