An easily accessible biography of a notable 20th-century American.
Fame and accomplishment come easily to an astronaut.
During a childhood visit with his father to an airfield full of propeller planes, Armstrong was inspired. He knew that he wanted to fly and earned his pilot’s license at age 16. He fought during the Korean War, earning three Air Medals, and then became a test pilot and joined NASA, where he was selected for the first moon mission. In July 1969, he became the first person to walk on the surface of the moon. In July 1969, he became the first person to walk on the surface of the moon (in a reference to Armstrong's famous quote, the text reads, “It was one small step for a man but a giant leap for humankind”). The author concludes her brief, positive highlights of Armstrong’s life with an overview of the worldwide fame that followed the mission. All the faces in the colorful illustrations feature big smiles with the exception of a scene in the spacecraft when a technical glitch causes two astronauts to grimace. The people depicted are mostly light-skinned, though one illustration shows three brown-skinned women walking together at NASA headquarters and another shows a brown-skinned family watching the moon landing on TV. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An easily accessible biography of a notable 20th-century American. (photos, biographical information) (Picture-book biography. 5-8)Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-7112-7103-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
An ideal lead-in to more specific guides to aquarium setup and fish care.
A first introduction to our planet’s finny residents, particularly the decidedly uncommon goldfish.
Preceded by an entire piscatorial ABC that extends over six pages, two children of color lecture an audience of house pets (and readers) about such typical fishy features as scales and gills—properly noting that some fish, like certain eels, have no scales and some, like hagfish, no bony spines. The two then zero in on goldfish, explaining that they are easier to keep at home than tropical fish, originated long ago in China, can recognize the faces of people who bring them food, and with proper care live 25 years. All of this information is presented in a mix of dialogue balloons and single lines of commentary in block letters, accompanying cleanly drawn cartoon illustrations that alternate between a domestic setting and labeled portraits of various fish rendered in fine, exact detail. With easily digestible doses of biological and historical background, common-sense cautionary notes, and a buoyant tone, this is an appealing dive for newly independent readers out to enhance the household menagerie.
An ideal lead-in to more specific guides to aquarium setup and fish care. (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943145-15-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: TOON Books & Graphics
Review Posted Online: Feb. 13, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017
Illuminating, of course—and also a good deal of fun.
“Met-a-more-for-WHAT?” A stern instructor delivers life-cycle information to a class of wide-eyed firefly larvae.
Eventually even pulling a pair of class cutups to attention, the teacher—an adult rather oddly got up in a military uniform in Salcedo’s cartoon illustrations—lays down the (natural) law from “You have four different life cycle stages from when you’re an egg until you’re an adult!” to “As an adult firefly, you have just one job.” Supplementing the lecture with definitions and specific details in frequent side notes (“Finding a Mate 101”), the author covers diet, body parts, bioluminescence, molting, avoiding predators (notably cannibalistic fireflies of the Photuris genus and “giants” wielding jars with screw-top lids), and other topics. Following the teacher’s annoyed “What do you mean you have questions? I only have about 30 seconds left to live,” Foote appends follow-up pages of photos and further facts. She has her finger on the pulse of her audience, informing them of the firefly larva’s appealingly icky dining habits (liquefying its prey with poison) and realistically depicting a moment of near-total distraction when the young students delightedly repeat “bum” before being corrected by their teacher (“Grow up, larvae! It’s your flashing ABDOMEN”).
Illuminating, of course—and also a good deal of fun. (glossary, websites) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943147-32-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: The Innovation Press
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
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