An amazing science adventure well worth the trip.
Visit a nearly pristine world with an entomologist who’s studied this new island almost since its birth in 1963.
Burns describes field research on Surtsey, weaving the geological and ecological history of the island, raised from the ocean by volcanic eruption, into a fascinating account of scientists at work, with particular emphasis on the life’s work of Erling Ólaffson, who studies the island’s insects. The author was privileged to join him and eight other researchers in July 2015 for a five-day visit to this natural laboratory for watching the progression of life; this once-barren island is still open only to scientists. She’s chosen details that will particularly interest her readers: the mechanics of insect capture, discovery of new species, day-to-day life. The seven men and three women (Icelandic except for the American writer and a Polish botanist; all are white) came by helicopter, stayed in a hut built for researchers, used designated bathroom areas (No. 2 goes under rocks near the ocean to be washed away), and left nothing but wooden stakes marking research squares and new-to-island plants. Photographs by the writer and several team members, especially the entomologist who first visited Surtsey in 1970, include gorgeous scenery, the changing face of the island, team members, and close-ups of plants, animals, and even the lava itself to help readers picture this unique experience.
An amazing science adventure well worth the trip. (glossary, further information resources, source notes, bibliography, acknowledgements, photo credits, index) (Nonfiction. 10-16)Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-544-68723-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
Wordplay and wry wit put extra fun into a trove of fundamental knowledge.
With an amped-up sense of wonder, the Science Guy surveys the natural universe.
Starting from first principles like the scientific method, Nye and his co-author marvel at the “Amazing Machine” that is the human body then go on to talk up animals, plants, evolution, physics and chemistry, the quantum realm, geophysics, and climate change. They next venture out into the solar system and beyond. Along with tallying select aspects and discoveries in each chapter, the authors gather up “Massively Important” central concepts, send shoutouts to underrecognized women scientists like oceanographer Marie Tharp, and slip in directions for homespun experiments and demonstrations. They also challenge readers to ponder still-unsolved scientific posers and intersperse rousing quotes from working scientists about how exciting and wide open their respective fields are. If a few of those fields, like the fungal kingdom, get short shrift (one spare paragraph notwithstanding), readers are urged often enough to go look things up for themselves to kindle a compensatory habit. Aside from posed photos of Nye and a few more of children (mostly presenting as White) doing science-y things, the full-color graphic and photographic images not only reflect the overall “get this!” tone but consistently enrich the flow of facts and reflections. “Our universe is a strange and surprising place,” Nye writes. “Stay curious.” Words to live by.
Wordplay and wry wit put extra fun into a trove of fundamental knowledge. (contributors, art credits, selected bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 11-15)Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4676-5
Page Count: 264
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Aug. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Hot on the heels of the well-received Leonardo da Vinci (2005) comes another agreeably chatty entry in the Giants of Science series. Here the pioneering physicist is revealed as undeniably brilliant, but also cantankerous, mean-spirited, paranoid and possibly depressive. Newton’s youth and annus mirabilis receive respectful treatment, the solitude enforced by family estrangement and then the plague seen as critical to the development of his thoughtful, methodical approach. His subsequent squabbles with the rest of the scientific community—he refrained from publishing one treatise until his rival was dead—further support the image of Newton as a scientific lone wolf. Krull’s colloquial treatment sketches Newton’s advances in clearly understandable terms without bogging the text down with detailed explanations. A final chapter on “His Impact” places him squarely in the pantheon of great thinkers, arguing that both his insistence on the scientific method and his theories of physics have informed all subsequent scientific thought. A bibliography, web site and index round out the volume; the lack of detail on the use of sources is regrettable in an otherwise solid offering for middle-grade students. (Biography. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-670-05921-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2006
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