Browsable fun but rather lightweight.
Forty-eight “nature stories” about flora, fauna, and natural wonders around the world will whet the appetites of nature and science lovers.
Each of 12 calendar-month sections presents four topics, each except the first getting a full double-page spread, which, in a book whose trim is 10 by 12 inches, is an eyeful. The topics include tulips in the Netherlands, the courtship dance of red-crowned cranes in Japan, a sardine run in South Africa, fig pollination in Palestine, the “wood wide web” in Italy, salmon spawning in Canada, and hermit crab housing issues in Jamaica. Digital spot illustrations with no white space in between fill every bit of space, the text resting on solid colors within them. The borders are an especial delight, reflecting both the spread’s topic and country, though a world map would be a welcome addition. The book is not consistent in using solid scientific terms or even naming the flora and fauna depicted, which may hinder further research. For example, metamorphosis, avalanche, and the names of the parts of the water cycle are missing, though the text mentions both pollination and bioluminescence; and the frog that freezes and the flower that smells like rotting meat are not named. The text also uses quite a bit of anthropomorphization to explain animal behavior. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Browsable fun but rather lightweight. (table of contents, index) (Nonfiction picture book. 4-10)Pub Date: May 24, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-7112-6966-8
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
Erupt into applause for this picture book of the first magma-tude.
A deceptively simple, visually appealing, comprehensive explanation of volcanoes.
Gibbons packs an impressive number of facts into this browsable nonfiction picture book. The text begins with the awe of a volcanic eruption: “The ground begins to rumble…ash, hot lava and rock, and gases shoot up into the air.” Diagrams of the Earth’s structural layers—inner and outer core, mantle, and crust—undergird a discussion about why volcanoes occur. Simple maps of the Earth’s seven major tectonic plates show where volcanoes are likeliest to develop. Other spreads with bright, clearly labeled illustrations cover intriguing subtopics: four types of volcanoes and how they erupt; underwater volcanoes; well-known volcanoes and historic volcanic eruptions around the world; how to be safe in the vicinity of a volcano; and the work of scientists studying volcanoes and helping to predict eruptions. A page of eight facts about volcanoes wraps things up. The straightforward, concise prose will be easy for young readers to follow. As always, Gibbons manages to present a great deal of information in a compact form.
Erupt into applause for this picture book of the first magma-tude. (Nonfiction picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4569-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on.
Sharpson offers so-fish-ticated readers a heads up about the true terror of the seas.
The title says it all. Our unseen narrator is just fine with other animals: mammals. Reptiles. Even birds. But fish? Don’t trust them! First off, the rules always seem to change with fish. Some live in fresh water; some reside in salt water. Some have gills, while others have lungs. You can never see what they’re up to, since they hang out underwater, and they’re always eating those poor, innocent crabs. Soon, the narrator introduces readers to Jeff, a vacant-eyed yellow fish—but don’t be fooled! Jeff’s “the craftiest fish of all.” All fish are, apparently, hellbent on world domination, the narrator warns. “DON’T TRUST FISH!” Finally, at the tail end, we get a sly glimpse of our unreliable narrator. Readers needn’t be ichthyologists to appreciate Sharpson’s meticulous comic timing. (“Ships always sink at sea. They never sink on land. Isn’t that strange?”) His delightful text, filled to the brim with jokes that read aloud brilliantly, pairs perfectly with Santat’s art, which shifts between extreme realism and goofy hilarity. He also fills the book with his own clever gags (such as an image of Gilligan’s Island’s S.S. Minnow going down and a bottle of sauce labeled “Surly Chik’n Srir’racha’r”).
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 8, 2025
ISBN: 9780593616673
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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