by Marilee Peters ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 2014
However, the writing style is engaging, the complexity of information is appropriate for a middle to high school audience,...
Few might regard the field of epidemiology as a first-rate opportunity for sleuthing, but this fascinating effort may change that.
Peters chronicles seven important epidemics that included epidemiological work, from the very infancy of the field through its growing sophistication: the bubonic plague in London, 1665; the cholera epidemic in London, 1854; yellow fever in Cuba as its mosquito source was finally identified in 1900; the typhoid cases in New York City in 1906 that led to the identification of a carrier, “Typhoid Mary”; the influenza pandemic of 1918-19; the initial appearance of Ebola virus in Zaire, 1976; and the first recognition of AIDS in California in 1980. Each of these sections begins with a brief, imaginative narrative, some of which include speculative dialogue. Separate features, either in the form of entire pages in a contrasting color or, less often, set against corked flasks of…something—a contaminated culture, perhaps?—or a black doctor’s bag, are very liberally sprinkled through the book, making the choice of what to read first sometimes unclear. A couple of errors in copy editing and layout compound that issue.
However, the writing style is engaging, the complexity of information is appropriate for a middle to high school audience, and the mysterious nature of unexplained epidemics is perfectly captured, more than compensating for the deficiencies. (Nonfiction. 11-18)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-55451-671-1
Page Count: 168
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2014
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by Marilee Peters ; illustrated by Kim Rosen
by Russell Freedman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2000
If Freedman wrote the history textbooks, we would have many more historians. Beginning with an engrossing description of the Boston Tea Party in 1773, he brings the reader the lives of the American colonists and the events leading up to the break with England. The narrative approach to history reads like a good story, yet Freedman tucks in the data that give depth to it. The inclusion of all the people who lived during those times and the roles they played, whether small or large are acknowledged with dignity. The story moves backwards from the Boston Tea Party to the beginning of the European settlement of what they called the New World, and then proceeds chronologically to the signing of the Declaration. “Your Rights and Mine” traces the influence of the document from its inception to the present ending with Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. The full text of the Declaration and a reproduction of the original are included. A chronology of events and an index are helpful to the young researcher. Another interesting feature is “Visiting the Declaration of Independence.” It contains a short review of what happened to the document in the years after it was written, a useful Web site, and a description of how it is displayed and protected today at the National Archives building in Washington, D.C. Illustrations from the period add interest and detail. An excellent addition to the American history collection and an engrossing read. (Nonfiction. 9-13)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-8234-1448-5
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2000
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by Russell Freedman ; illustrated by William Low
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by Ann Douglas & illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes & photographed by Gilbert Duclos ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 2000
A well-intentioned description of life before birth. The illustrations make use of photographs (including ultrasound) and artist’s drawings, often in the same image, and these are well used to clarify the text. How babies grow and develop inside the womb is both described and illustrated, and while the tone is one of forced cheer, the information is sound. Also offered are quite silly exercises for children to experience what life in the womb might be like, such as listening to a dishwasher to experience the sounds a baby hears inside its mother’s body, or being held under a towel or blanket by an adult and wiggling about. The getting-together of sperm and egg is lightly passed over, as is the actual process of birth. But children may be mesmerized by the drawings of the growing child inside the mother, and what activities predate their birth dates. Not an essential purchase, but adequate as an addition to the collection. (Picture book/nonfiction. 4-8)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2000
ISBN: 1-894379-01-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Firefly
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2000
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