A launch pad for learning more about monarchs.
A close-up look at the 3,000-mile fall monarch butterfly migration to overwintering grounds in Mexico.
An opening spread shows a difficult-to-recognize distended North American continent, several orangish-white lines extending from the north and converging in Mexico. The text notes that it takes monarchs traveling north in the spring four generations to reach their destinations, but monarchs that hatch in the fall make the trip to Mexico in one go. From this opening, swirling, twirling orange-and-black butterflies fill the pages of this informative yet lyrical book. Challenging vocabulary will stretch readers’ own wings: kaleidoscope, nectar, roost. Pryor doesn’t shy away from the fact that not all will survive: Lack of resting spots and adequate food as well as storms are issues. The backmatter delineates other threats, things readers can do to help monarchs, the life cycle and anatomy of a monarch, information about milkweed, info about monarch migration and a map, and an author’s note. Here the text also notes that “insects change form as they grow in a process called metamorphosis,” which is true for only about 80% of species. While the picture-book format may be young for the audience that matches the text’s language, it’s a good springboard for further research into monarch migration for older students and a good stretch for younger ones. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A launch pad for learning more about monarchs. (Informational picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2023
ISBN: 9781546003137
Page Count: 40
Publisher: WorthyKids/Ideals
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.
This book is buzzing with trivia.
Follow a swarm of bees as they leave a beekeeper’s apiary in search of a new home. As the scout bees traverse the fields, readers are provided with a potpourri of facts and statements about bees. The information is scattered—much like the scout bees—and as a result, both the nominal plot and informational content are tissue-thin. There are some interesting facts throughout the book, but many pieces of trivia are too, well trivial, to prove useful. For example, as the bees travel, readers learn that “onion flowers are round and fluffy” and “fennel is a plant that is used in cooking.” Other facts are oversimplified and as a result are not accurate. For example, monofloral honey is defined as “made by bees who visit just one kind of flower” with no acknowledgment of the fact that bees may range widely, and swarm activity is described as a springtime event, when it can also occur in summer and early fall. The information in the book, such as species identification and measurement units, is directed toward British readers. The flat, thin-lined artwork does little to enhance the story, but an “I spy” game challenging readers to find a specific bee throughout is amusing.
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere. (Informational picture book. 8-10)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-500-65265-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Another playful imagination-stretcher.
Markle invites children to picture themselves living in the homes of 11 wild animals.
As in previous entries in the series, McWilliam’s illustrations of a diverse cast of young people fancifully imitating wild creatures are paired with close-up photos of each animal in a like natural setting. The left side of one spread includes a photo of a black bear nestling in a cozy winter den, while the right side features an image of a human one cuddled up with a bear. On another spread, opposite a photo of honeybees tending to newly hatched offspring, a human “larva” lounges at ease in a honeycomb cell, game controller in hand, as insect attendants dish up goodies. A child with an eye patch reclines on an orb weaver spider’s web, while another wearing a head scarf constructs a castle in a subterranean chamber with help from mound-building termites. Markle adds simple remarks about each type of den, nest, or burrow and basic facts about its typical residents, then closes with a reassuring reminder to readers that they don’t have to live as animals do, because they will “always live where people live.” A select gallery of traditional homes, from igloo and yurt to mudhif, follows a final view of the young cast waving from a variety of differently styled windows.
Another playful imagination-stretcher. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781339049052
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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