An affecting metaphor for the cycle of life.
A river is born and carried along, from source to sea, where the cycle will begin again.
Striking painted-and-collaged artwork depicts the long journey as the river itself narrates its story, beginning as rain high above in the mountains. Then it tumbles along over stones, through towns, getting ever bigger, “testing [its] boundaries,” merging with other rivers, encountering obstacles and quiet places, until eventually it “meet[s] the great ocean” and “become[s] one” with it. “And then, drop by drop, / I return to the sky. / And I begin again….” Children will quickly notice that though it’s not mentioned in the text, another parallel and similar story is taking place alongside the river’s story in the illustrations. Beginning at the foot of the mountain where the river begins, a human life is also starting. First depicted as a White-presenting babe in arms, the child is seen growing, testing boundaries with a thrilling leap into the river, in due course getting married, encountering obstacles and places of respite, until eventually, just as the river remarks, “There is more of me behind than ahead.” This now-aged adult is last seen in a tiny boat with sea life teeming beneath. “I’m grateful. I let go.” In his debut as an author, Albrecht, an award-winning producer of animated films for children, presents a gentle and approachable view on life and mortality.
An affecting metaphor for the cycle of life. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-944903-96-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Cameron + Company
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
A gleeful game for budding naturalists.
Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.
In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781728271170
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
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