by Kirsti Blom & Geir Wing Gabrielson ; translated by Helle Valborg Goldman ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 5, 2020
A clear explanation of a pressing problem and an invitation to take action.
The problem of plastics in the ocean is worldwide in scope, but it can be addressed by individuals.
This disturbing but somewhat hopeful account of an increasingly pressing environmental concern caused by humans is framed by the experience of a pair of northern fulmars, Canadian seabirds. An opening section introduces the fulmars, feeding and raising their family, and recounts the death of the female due to plastic ingestion. The second addresses the problem this useful material has created in our oceans, from the visible trash to microplastics and toxins in sea creatures and the water around them as well as the garbage whirlpools forming in our oceans. A third section suggests ways readers can help and gives examples of progress. A final spread describes the lone male, displaced from his nest but soaring off to find a new mate. The text is clearly organized, usually one topic to a spread. The large, generously set type makes this discomfiting text more accessible. There are striking, memorable photographs and vignettes and some full-bleed full-page and full, wordless double-page spreads. This effective presentation is the joint work of a versatile Norwegian writer and the Norwegian representative to the United Nations Environment Program in the area of marine litter. It was first published in Norway in 2016 and has been smoothly translated for this American edition.
A clear explanation of a pressing problem and an invitation to take action. (word list) (Nonfiction. 9-13)Pub Date: April 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-943645-50-3
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Cornell Lab Publishing Group
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
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edited by Mayim Bialik ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 2, 2021
Contentwise, an arbitrary assortment…but sure to draw fans of comics, of science, or of both.
Flash, Batman, and other characters from the DC Comics universe tackle supervillains and STEM-related topics and sometimes, both.
Credited to 20 writers and illustrators in various combinations, the 10 episodes invite readers to tag along as Mera and Aquaman visit oceanic zones from epipelagic to hadalpelagic; Supergirl helps a young scholar pick a science-project topic by taking her on a tour of the solar system; and Swamp Thing lends Poison Ivy a hand to describe how DNA works (later joining Swamp Kid to scuttle a climate-altering scheme by Arcane). In other episodes, various costumed creations explain the ins and outs of diverse large- and small-scale phenomena, including electricity, atomic structure, forensic techniques, 3-D printing, and the lactate threshold. Presumably on the supposition that the characters will be more familiar to readers than the science, the minilectures tend to start from simple basics, but the figures are mostly both redrawn to look more childlike than in the comics and identified only in passing. Drawing styles and page designs differ from chapter to chapter but not enough to interrupt overall visual unity and flow—and the cast is sufficiently diverse to include roles for superheroes (and villains) of color like Cyborg, Kid Flash, and the Latina Green Lantern, Jessica Cruz. Appended lists of websites and science-based YouTube channels, plus instructions for homespun activities related to each episode, point inspired STEM-winders toward further discoveries.
Contentwise, an arbitrary assortment…but sure to draw fans of comics, of science, or of both. (Graphic nonfiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77950-382-4
Page Count: 160
Publisher: DC
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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by Jonah Winter ; illustrated by Jeanette Winter ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2020
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care.
In 1977, the oil carrier Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil into a formerly pristine Alaskan ocean inlet, killing millions of birds, animals, and fish. Despite a cleanup, crude oil is still there.
The Winters foretold the destructive powers of the atomic bomb allusively in The Secret Project (2017), leaving the actuality to the backmatter. They make no such accommodations to young audiences in this disturbing book. From the dark front cover, on which oily blobs conceal a seabird, to the rescuer’s sad face on the back, the mother-son team emphasizes the disaster. A relatively easy-to-read and poetically heightened text introduces the situation. Oil is pumped from the Earth “all day long, all night long, / day after day, year after year” in “what had been unspoiled land, home to Native people // and thousands of caribou.” The scale of extraction is huge: There’s “a giant pipeline” leading to “enormous ships.” Then, crash. Rivers of oil gush out over three full-bleed wordless pages. Subsequent scenes show rocks, seabirds, and sea otters covered with oil. Finally, 30 years later, animals have returned to a cheerful scene. “But if you lift a rock… // oil / seeps / up.” For an adult reader, this is heartbreaking. How much more difficult might this be for an animal-loving child?
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3077-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
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