This newest entry in the essential Scientists in the Field series takes readers to some of the lowest points on the planet—thousands of feet below the ocean’s surface, where colonies of eldritch-looking tube worms and other denizens thrive around sunless, hydrothermal vents that are more times hotter than boiling temperature. Backed up by plenty of color photos, maps and artists’ conceptions, the tour follows both an IMAX film crew and the research of marine biologist Rich Lutz. The latter offers a unique perspective, because in 1991 a site in the Pacific known as Nine North was utterly devastated by a volcanic eruption, and Lutz has been studying the stages and cycles of its biological community’s recovery ever since. Closing with the tantalizing observation that scientists have charted less than one percent of the ocean’s floor, Mallory will leave young readers with a both a better understanding of this unique ecological niche and a sense of wonder about the many mysteries yet to be uncovered. (multimedia resource list) (Nonfiction. 10-13)
Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2006
ISBN: 0-618-33205-7
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Remarking that ``nothing about the weather is very simple,'' Simon goes on to describe how the sun, atmosphere, earth's rotation, ground cover, altitude, pollution, and other factors influence it; briefly, he also tells how weather balloons gather information. Even for this outstanding author, it's a tough, complex topic, and he's not entirely successful in simplifying it; moreover, the import of the striking uncaptioned color photos here isn't always clear. One passage—``Cumulus clouds sometimes build up into towering masses called cumulus congestus, or swelling cumulus, which may turn into cumulonimbus clouds''—is superimposed on a blue-gray, cloud-covered landscape. But which kind of clouds are these? Another photo, in blue-black and white, shows what might be precipitation in the upper atmosphere, or rain falling on a darkened landscape, or...? Generally competent and certainly attractive, but not Simon's best. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-688-10546-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1993
The Pumpkin Book (32 pp.; $16.95; Sept. 15; 0-8234-1465-5): From seed to vine and blossom to table, Gibbons traces the growth cycle of everyone’s favorite autumn symbol—the pumpkin. Meticulous drawings detail the transformation of tiny seeds to the colorful gourds that appear at roadside stands and stores in the fall. Directions for planting a pumpkin patch, carving a jack-o’-lantern, and drying the seeds give young gardeners the instructions they need to grow and enjoy their own golden globes. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 1999
ISBN: 0-8234-1465-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
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