A strong, engaging work that delivers intriguing facts about monarch butterflies.
This science-focused illustrated children’s book explores the incredible life cycles of multigenerational monarch butterflies.
Monarchs are common and loved in North America, but “What makes them the celebrities of the insect world?” the narrator asks. Ending most two-page spreads on a question, the work features a narrator who guides readers through an understanding of monarch migration, the geography behind their long journeys, and the strange life cycles that allow every “third or fourth” generation of monarchs to live for months, rather than only a few weeks, of adulthood. But when habitats change, how can monarchs survive? Marta Magellan addresses many of the concerns that migrating butterflies face, such as chemicals, habitat loss, climate change, and the parasites that have affected resident monarchs. But the book ends on a hopeful note, showing young readers how to become citizen scientists and plant their own pollinator gardens. Images of monarch mimics, along with why these look-alikes share similar coloration, will help young readers identify insect specimens in their own neighborhoods. A helpful glossary explains many of the more challenging science vocabulary words in the book, and even offers further information about different types of mimicry beyond the main text. Some word choices, especially in the end pages, may stymie beginning readers, for example in the discussion of systemic pesticides. While the book has a hefty amount of text, it’s skillfully presented in the pages, with plenty of eye-catching images to move the story along. The bright, clear photographs (by Gersing, Lambert, Mazur, and Endrizzi) are perfectly accompanied by Mauro Magellan’s illustrations, which blend photorealism with design elements. A detailed map shows the butterflies’ migration paths, a feature that will captivate adult and young readers alike. But the final image may haunt readers with its depiction of fallen butterflies, crumpled on a sidewalk. The Magellans, a sibling team, and their collaborators wisely follow that scene with ways young readers can help.
A strong, engaging work that delivers intriguing facts about monarch butterflies.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Eifrig Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 21, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
PERSPECTIVES
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
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