An appealing reminder that mighty things come in small packages.
Very small creatures nevertheless have many effective survival strategies.
Jumping out of the way of enemies, shooting them with toxins, relying on armor, and camouflaging themselves are all ways tiny creatures can avoid being eaten. But, Ryall Woolcock explains, they can also turn the tables, biting, hunting, herding, or just joining up with others. This survey of survival skills begins cleverly with an illustration of a small pink-skinned child being squished in a crowd. Having made a connection with their intended readers, Ryall Woolcock and Thomas introduce their subject: the “superpowers” of various small creatures. From baby planthoppers, which use gears to perform jumping feats, to imperial shrimp, which stay safe from predators by riding around on poisonous nudibranchs, author and illustrator present a wide variety of strategies. For the most part, each species gets a single page; some topics—like the hunting methods of various spiders—receive a double-page spread. Considerable information is packed into short paragraphs, often with headers, set directly on full-bleed illustrations that effectively showcase menacing predators and their potential prey, like the gently humorous cover, which depicts a frog about to be surprised by the beetle it’s hoping to eat. This builds on the information provided by Nathalie Tordjman’s The Book of Tiny Creatures (2021), illustrated by Julien Norwood and Emmanuelle Tchoukriel. Humans portrayed are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An appealing reminder that mighty things come in small packages. (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-83874-853-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Flying Eye Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe.
An introduction to gravity.
The book opens with the most iconic demonstration of gravity, an apple falling. Throughout, Herz tackles both huge concepts—how gravity compresses atoms to form stars and how black holes pull all kinds of matter toward them—and more concrete ones: how gravity allows you to jump up and then come back down to the ground. Gravity narrates in spare yet lyrical verse, explaining how it creates planets and compresses atoms and comparing itself to a hug. “My embrace is tight enough that you don’t float like a balloon, but loose enough that you can run and leap and play.” Gravity personifies itself at times: “I am stubborn—the bigger things are, the harder I pull.” Beautiful illustrations depict swirling planets and black holes alongside racially diverse children playing, running, and jumping, all thanks to gravity. Thorough backmatter discusses how Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity and explains Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. While at times Herz’s explanations may be a bit too technical for some readers, burgeoning scientists will be drawn in.
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe. (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: April 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668936849
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tilbury House
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A lighthearted first look at an increasingly useful skill.
Grown-ups may not be the only audience for this simple explanation of how algorithms work.
Taking a confused-looking hipster parent firmly in hand, a child first points to all the computers around the house (“Pro Tip: When dealing with grown-ups, don’t jump into the complicated stuff too fast. Start with something they already know”). Next, the child leads the adult outside to make and follow step-by-step directions for getting to the park, deciding which playground equipment to use, and finally walking home. Along the way, concepts like conditionals and variables come into play in street maps and diagrams, and a literal bug stands in for the sort that programmers will inevitably need to find and solve. The lesson culminates in an actual sample of very simple code with labels that unpack each instruction…plus a pop quiz to lay out a decision tree for crossing the street, because if “your grown-up can explain it, that shows they understand it!” That goes for kids, too—and though Spiro doesn’t take the logical next step and furnish leads to actual manuals, young (and not so young) fledgling coders will find plenty of good ones around, such as Get Coding! (2017), published by Candlewick, or Rachel Ziter’s Coding From Scratch (2018).
A lighthearted first look at an increasingly useful skill. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2023
ISBN: 9781623543181
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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