A good introduction to the International Space Station for very young children just beginning to look beyond the...
The youngest space enthusiasts get a look at life aboard the International Space Station in Houran’s latest.
From the rocket’s launch, which propels the astronauts to “work,” to their bedding down at night, this book looks at a few of the more well-known activities that astronauts on the International Space Station are engaged in: eating, space walking, making repairs to the ISS and zipping into sleeping bags. Neither the narrative nor the digital-looking illustrations go into much depth; the latter provide the barest minimum of detail (and some at NASA may cringe to see laptops floating in the space station, tethered only by their power cords). Still, the short text will certainly keep readers’ attention and even provides an opportunity for participation, as each section ends with “in space.” “Looking at Earth… // While Earth looks at you… / A blip out in space” and “Taking a walk / Without any ground! / Flipping in space.” The final spread features a paragraph of further information about each of the activities. These use more specific vocabulary and explain things in greater depth than the simple text while keeping them accessible for adults working with children.
A good introduction to the International Space Station for very young children just beginning to look beyond the stratosphere. (Informational picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: March 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8075-8091-2
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
A sweet bee idyll
A little girl befriends a lost bumblebee in this wordless picture book.
The scene opens on a bustling and ever-so-slightly surreal urban landscape; muted taupes and peaches give it a friendly if sterile look. A little white girl sits in a high-rise apartment reading a book on flowers when a large bee flies in her open window. In an eight-panel sequence, she fetches a fly swatter, causing the bee to back up against a windowsill, four whisper-thin legs held up in surrender, its two wide eyes visually echoing its dismayed O of a mouth. After consulting a book called Bee Culture, she prepares it a solution of sugar water, which the bee sips delicately from a spoon. She lets it go, but it returns, comically bedraggled, on a rainy day, and the friendship is cemented. The bee grows and grows until it’s big enough for her to ride, its human facial features and fuzzy, brown-and-yellow–striped body anything but threatening. (A stinger is conspicuously absent.) Together they fly to the countryside, harvest seeds, and sprinkle them in the city so that the next spring, it’s all abloom. Jay’s oil paintings are soft and delicate, offering delight in the details. Even as the girl bonds with the bee, she also befriends a little brown-skinned boy in the apartment above. A page of bee facts concludes the book, with a focus on pollinator-friendly plants for readers to plant to encourage bees in their own environments.
A sweet bee idyll . (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9010-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
Smashing good fun for preschoolers of both genders.
Ode to a wrecking ball! And other heavy construction equipment.
"Grab your gear. Grab your gear," begins the book, which offers 11 four-line verses in bold lettering, each in a two-page spread highlighting a different aspect of the demolition process. Workers get into their protective gear as the wrecking ball is moved into place: "Buckle, tie, and strap. / Safety jackets, boots and hats. / Zip! Stamp! SNAP!" The jaws of the excavator "Rip! Roar! CRASH!" And its basket works to "Ram the walls. Ram the walls." The mobile crusher grinds up broken concrete, and the industrial wood chipper shreds the wood: "Split and chop and chip." One verse is dedicated to loading the truck with debris, another to building playground equipment on the excavation site. The final lines—"Join the fun. Join the fun... / Hip...hip... HOORAY!"—depict happy people using the park that has been designed and built on the demolition site. A final illustrated page offers some concise "Machine Facts" on both the vehicles and some of their components. The onomatopoeia in Sutton's simple rhyming text is appealingly extreme, and it's like a natural for listener repetition, though the verses could be more distinct from one another. Lovelock's bright pictures—in ink, acrylic and colored pencil—are a solid match.
Smashing good fun for preschoolers of both genders. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5830-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2012
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