A real browsers’ buffet, though everything on the menu is appetizer sized.
Free association rules in this gathering of hundreds of facts about science, technology, and the natural world.
Strung along a single long, fine dotted line that meanders irregularly across each page from first to last, the one- or two-sentence factoids and observations veer from topic to topic but are linked by a key word or concept. The fact, for instance, that a rectangle has four sides leads to the note that there are four species of giraffe, then to the information that a group of giraffes is a “tower,” that the Eiffel Tower gets 60 tons of paint slapped on it every seven years, that cave artists added the mineral mica to their paint, that fluoride is a mineral, and so on and on. As one way to vary the pace of the onslaught of trivia, the line occasionally forks to send readers to a related sequence on another page, and as another, the illustrations mix bright stock photos and Smith’s comical cartoon figures in a broad range of sizes. Readers with attention spans on the short side may indeed find plenty of, as Hale promises, “mind-blowing, wow-worthy and crazily cool” facts, but the arbitrary ordering will quickly lead to informational overload with any sustained exposure. Alas, the “FACTopians” provide no sources beyond a slew of unidentified URLs at the end—to the various resources’ homepages, to boot, so would-be researchers who go to usgs.gov, for example, will be hard-pressed to find out exactly what information was gleaned from there.
A real browsers’ buffet, though everything on the menu is appetizer sized. (Nonfiction. 6-10)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-912920-71-6
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Britannica Books
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
More thoughtful, sometimes exhilarating encounters with nature.
In a new entry in the Over and Under series, a paddleboarder glimpses humpback whales leaping, floats over a populous kelp forest, and explores life on a beach and in a tide pool.
In this tale inspired by Messner’s experiences in Monterey Bay in California, a young tan-skinned narrator, along with their light-skinned mom and tan-skinned dad, observes in quiet, lyrical language sights and sounds above and below the sea’s serene surface. Switching perspectives and angles of view and often leaving the family’s red paddleboards just tiny dots bobbing on distant swells, Neal’s broad seascapes depict in precise detail bat stars and anchovies, kelp bass, and sea otters going about their business amid rocky formations and the swaying fronds of kelp…and, further out, graceful moon jellies and—thrillingly—massive whales in open waters beneath gliding pelicans and other shorebirds. After returning to the beach at day’s end to search for shells and to spot anemones and decorator crabs, the child ends with nighttime dreams of stars in the sky meeting stars in the sea. Appended nature notes on kelp and 21 other types of sealife fill in details about patterns and relationships in this rich ecosystem. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
More thoughtful, sometimes exhilarating encounters with nature. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-79720-347-8
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Sweet as honey.
Learn about the importance of keystone species in this buzzworthy book.
Honeybees are an important species—but how many people know just how important? Readers will after reading this bee-dazzling book that explains their essential role in the food chain. Three beekeepers (a White adult and two children, one Black and one White) are inspecting their beehives and discover a potential case of colony collapse disorder, a relatively new phenomenon in which an entire colony of bees dies off quickly. The book then delves into the logical events that would follow if all honeybee colonies collapsed, showing how many species—plant and animal, including humans—would be adversely affected. Each double-page spread presents one or two small paragraphs explaining the links in the chain of consequences in moderately simple language. The text is supported by lush cartoon illustrations that will pull in readers with each new page. The book ends with a brief glossary, suggestions for starting honeybee-related conversations at home and with friends, and a full-page bibliography for readers who have been stung with curiosity. It’s a fun and engaging read for nonfiction fans and will also pull double duty during science project festivals, as the resources and information will be invaluable for projects on ecology, animal husbandry, or food webs. An added bonus for beekeepers is that all three humans are observing sensible beekeeping practices as they work. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.5-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Sweet as honey. (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-23245-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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