One of six books in a series that aims to get girls interested in female historical figures.
The layout of this title—with bold, appealing images, maps and timelines taking center stage against richly colored backgrounds—gives it the look and feel of a magazine. Readers will no doubt be attracted to the cover and engaged enough by the images inside to keep turning pages. The content of the prose, however, is sadly lacking. The text includes interesting sections on what Cleopatra ate, where she lived and what she wore; aside from that, the focus is on what makes her “dastardly,” in keeping with the series’ title—The Thinking Girls Treasury of Dastardly Dames. Readers learn of her seduction of Caesar and Mark Anthony and her role in Mark Anthony’s death. Just about everything else is omitted, including context to help readers understand Cleopatra’s dastardly deeds and any positive contributions associated with her rule. What’s more, readers are not provided with suggestions for further reading to fill in these gaps, nor are they provided with a basic list of references for the information contained in this text. Similarly flawed titles in the series feature Agrippina, Mary Tudor, Catherine De’Medici, Marie Anoinette and Cixi. An interesting concept poorly executed. Skip this series. (Nonfiction. 9-13)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-9834256-0-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Goosebottom Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2011
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care.
In 1977, the oil carrier Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil into a formerly pristine Alaskan ocean inlet, killing millions of birds, animals, and fish. Despite a cleanup, crude oil is still there.
The Winters foretold the destructive powers of the atomic bomb allusively in The Secret Project (2017), leaving the actuality to the backmatter. They make no such accommodations to young audiences in this disturbing book. From the dark front cover, on which oily blobs conceal a seabird, to the rescuer’s sad face on the back, the mother-son team emphasizes the disaster. A relatively easy-to-read and poetically heightened text introduces the situation. Oil is pumped from the Earth “all day long, all night long, / day after day, year after year” in “what had been unspoiled land, home to Native people // and thousands of caribou.” The scale of extraction is huge: There’s “a giant pipeline” leading to “enormous ships.” Then, crash. Rivers of oil gush out over three full-bleed wordless pages. Subsequent scenes show rocks, seabirds, and sea otters covered with oil. Finally, 30 years later, animals have returned to a cheerful scene. “But if you lift a rock… // oil / seeps / up.” For an adult reader, this is heartbreaking. How much more difficult might this be for an animal-loving child?
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3077-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
Finally, an astro-memoir for kids that really gets down to the nitty-gritty.
A former space shuttle pilot and International Space Station commander recalls in unusually exacting detail what it’s like to be an astronaut.
In the same vein as his more expansive adult title How To Astronaut (2020), Virts describes and reflects on his experiences with frank and photographic precision—from riding the infamous “Vomit Comet” to what astronauts wear, eat, and get paid. He also writes vividly about what Earth looks like from near orbit: the different colors of deserts, for instance, and storms that “are so powerful that the flashes from the lightning illuminate the inside of the space station.” With an eye to younger audiences with stars in their eyes, he describes space programs of the past and near future in clear, simple language and embeds pep talks about the importance of getting a good education and ignoring nay-sayers. For readers eager to start their training early, he also tucks in the occasional preparatory “Astronaut Activity,” such as taking some (unused) household item apart…and then putting it back together. Lozano supplements the small color photos of our planet from space and astronauts at work with helpful labeled images, including two types of spacesuits and a space shuttle, as well as cartoon spot art depicting diverse figures.
Finally, an astro-memoir for kids that really gets down to the nitty-gritty. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 9-11)Pub Date: April 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781523514564
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
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