Grand and thought-provoking.
A soaring visual tribute to the qualities that both unite bridges and make them individually distinct.
From the 10.4-foot-long El Marco Bridge that links Spain with Portugal to the 34-mile Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge—an undulating ribbon in Majewski’s painted overview that sweeps elegantly into the distance and out of sight over the edge of the page—this gallery of nearly two dozen examples, drawn from every continent except Antarctica and Australia, offers both a dazzling catalog of engineering wonders and an opportunity to reflect on their commonalities. “All over the world,” the author/illustrator writes, “bridges connect.” Some, as his pithy captions and brief endnotes indicate, connect cities, countries, or even continents; others, like the Pont du Gard in Paris or Alabama’s Edmund Pettis Bridge, are historic sites that link our past and present. Whether made of steel, stone, or, like the Umshiang Double-Decker Root Bridge in Meghalaya, India, of living wood, some soar high overhead, while others run just over or even under water. His groups of pedestrians, when the figures are large enough to tell, are racially diverse. Dan Zettwoch’s work of graphic nonfiction Bridges: Engineering Masterpieces (2022) offers a fuller history of bridges and a more systematic look at the nuts and bolts of their construction, but this will do at least as good a job of exciting feelings of wonder at the beauty of bridges as well as their remarkable range of designs and materials. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Grand and thought-provoking. (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: March 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781419756818
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
Everyone who reads this case study in paleontology’s methods and awesome rewards will want to grow up to be a dinosaur...
Argentine scientists involved in the actual dig describe one of modern paleontology’s most titanic discoveries.
“Excuse me,” says a Patagonian gaucho, stopping to view a dinosaur exhibit on a visit to town. “I found a bone just like that one on my ranch. But it’s much bigger than that one.” And so it is, as investigating paleontologist José (lead author Carballido) demonstrates in a memorable, money-shot illustration by Gigena, by lying down beside a 7-foot, 10-inch fossil femur—the largest of over 180 bones to be excavated, carefully preserved, hauled away from their remote site, and copied so that an exact replica of the humongous new species, Patagotitan mayorum, could be assembled. Running sidebar definitions and explanations of, for instance, how scientists can estimate a dinosaur’s body mass by measuring its arm and leg bones and what a single fossil tooth can tell scientists about a dinosaur’s eating habits enhance the third-person account, as does the mix of photos and painted views of women and (mostly unshaven) men at work in the field and lab. The story and pictures culminate in a jaw-dropping double-page–spread portrait of the finished dino model. “It’s the biggest dinosaur ever found,” concludes José’s partner Diego (co-author Pol). “For now,” replies José.
Everyone who reads this case study in paleontology’s methods and awesome rewards will want to grow up to be a dinosaur scientist. (jacket poster) (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-20739-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
A suitably colorful introduction to the life of a person whose name readers may not know but whose invention they all use.
Through persistent experimentation Edward Binney gave children a cheap and safe coloring medium.
In this chatty, engaging picture book, Biebow provides the historical context around the invention of Crayola crayons. The story covers the media predecessors (breakable, often poisonous artists’ crayons; clay) that were the basis for the Crayola and the trial-and-error process Binney undertook to create a safe, colorful product that children from diverse economic backgrounds could afford. Such visual cues as boldface type for the names of colors throughout the story aid readers in recognizing the colors that Binney developed and that they might encounter in their own crayon boxes. Biebow moves past the invention to recognize the impact this product has had on childhood worldwide. Salerno brings readers close to the story through his illustrations, right onto the lab table where Binney and his team (both impressively mustachioed men and women, all white) developed the crayon. What Jon Klassen achieves emotionally in his characters’ eyes, Salerno manages with eyebrows here. He uses crayon pencils for the bulk of the work; children's pictures in a couple of later spreads are done, appropriately enough, with Crayolas. A well-organized bibliography with both primary and secondary sources, including interviews with Binney’s great-granddaughter, is supplemented by text boxes throughout the book that offer additional informational snippets such as the composition of Crayola’s pigments.
A suitably colorful introduction to the life of a person whose name readers may not know but whose invention they all use. (factory snapshots, author’s note) (Picture book/biography. 6-9)Pub Date: March 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-86684-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
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