A promising first entry in a new series of picture books introducing iconic mammals to young readers with a sense of humor.
Fast facts about hippopotamuses embedded in cartoons.
Appealing cartoon illustrations of talking animals, a slim story about a lost calf, and an even slimmer joke about hippos riding bikes enliven this basic introduction to the hippopotamus family. Eaton identifies the two main species, common and pygmy hippopotamuses, and then distinguishes between the two. Each page or double-page spread includes a factoid or two describing weight, habitat, favorite foods, and behaviors. Digitally colored pen-and-ink cartoons show talking animals as well as a young white human observer. Speech bubbles and occasional text boxes add humor and further interesting information. Readers and listeners may be particularly amused by hippo bathroom habits: flicking their tails, they splatter their poop, perhaps “to mark trails or show dominance.” But there is solid, serious information here as well. “Hippos have big teeth, but that doesn’t keep them completely safe.” The author gently mentions threats to hippos, such as hunting and habitat destruction, and encourages his audience to “help by learning more about hippos and then teaching others.” In a nice touch, the concluding spread includes a review of hippo facts from the text and suggestions for further research, including lists of books for younger and older readers.
A promising first entry in a new series of picture books introducing iconic mammals to young readers with a sense of humor. (Informational picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Feb. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62672-667-3
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Neal Porter/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2017
An arguable error of omission and definite errors of commission sink this otherwise attractive effort.
A look at the unique ways that 11 globe-spanning animal species construct their homes.
Each creature garners two double-page spreads, which Cherrix enlivens with compelling and at-times jaw-dropping facts. The trapdoor spider constructs a hidden burrow door from spider silk. Sticky threads, fanning from the entrance, vibrate “like a silent doorbell” when walked upon by unwitting insect prey. Prairie dogs expertly dig communal burrows with designated chambers for “sleeping, eating, and pooping.” The largest recorded “town” occupied “25,000 miles and housed as many as 400 million prairie dogs!” Female ants are “industrious insects” who can remove more than a ton of dirt from their colony in a year. Cathedral termites use dirt and saliva to construct solar-cooled towers 30 feet high. Sasaki’s lively pictures borrow stylistically from the animal compendiums of mid-20th-century children’s lit; endpapers and display type elegantly suggest the blues of cyanotypes and architectural blueprints. Jarringly, the lead spread cheerfully extols the prowess of the corals of the Great Barrier Reef, “the world’s largest living structure,” while ignoring its accelerating, human-abetted destruction. Calamitously, the honeybee hive is incorrectly depicted as a paper-wasps’ nest, and the text falsely states that chewed beeswax “hardens into glue to shape the hive.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An arguable error of omission and definite errors of commission sink this otherwise attractive effort. (selected sources) (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-5625-9
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An attractive addition to settings where Wolf Island (2017) and A Bear’s Life (2017) have been popular.
Seals and sea lions shelter in a protected area of the Great Bear Sea, safe from stormy weather and prowling orcas.
McAllister, a photographer with more than 20 years of experience in the temperate rainforest along Canada’s Pacific coast, again teams up with Canadian journalist Read. This third in their series for younger readers uses McAllister’s photographs to illustrate a slim storyline about seals, sea lions, and other creatures who take cover from a storm in rocky areas larger animals can’t penetrate. Striking images, both above and under the water, show wide-eyed seals and the larger sea lions (but not the sea otters also mentioned). Later, when the storm is over, a group of orcas appears, circling around the entrance. In the clear, sunlit water, they can see the smaller mammals, but they can’t reach them. Kelp and other underwater vegetation provide a leafy backdrop to the scene. After the orcas move on, a final spread looks up at a group of seals on a barnacle-covered rock, once again comfortable in their world. Able readers who want to know more about this underwater world will enjoy The Great Bear Sea (2013), by the same team.
An attractive addition to settings where Wolf Island (2017) and A Bear’s Life (2017) have been popular. (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1267-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
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