A mind-boggling muddle of fuzzy imagery, mixed metaphors, and confusing leaps in scale.
A meditation on the cosmic unities within and beyond each reader.
Using scientific concepts but in ways more likely to elicit incomprehension, van der Merwe first takes readers from the infinite “universe” to the more personal “youniverse” and then in stages to photons…which weave together with atoms to create the molecules that make up everything on Earth…which is a member of “our town,” the solar system…which is zooming along in the Milky Way through space, which has “many, many, many, many gazillions of atoms.” “Space and time are laced together into a fabric called space-time,” she goes on, “which supports everything you see and everything you can’t see in its palm,” including “your extraordinary imagination” and also “another kind of consciousness in the quaking aspen, a spark we do not yet fully understand.” Readers may be excused for not fully understanding any of this—nor do the illustrations offer much enlightenment, as fuzzy clouds representing atoms give way to swirly stars and galaxies, culminating in a fuzzy, swirly human figure aglitter with stars that becomes a shadowy silhouette floating in space: “This is you, / gazing / into the / universe. / This is the / YOUNIVERSE.” Anyone seeking a sense of their place in the (physical) scheme of things will be better served by Jason Chin’s Your Place in the Universe (2020). (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A mind-boggling muddle of fuzzy imagery, mixed metaphors, and confusing leaps in scale. (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-88448-955-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tilbury House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 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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