Not just chatter, but a welcome and informative conclusion to a successful series of animal introductions.
With the help of talkative parrots, Eaton’s nature-loving protagonist learns about a family of wild birds beloved for their abilities to mimic human voices.
In this engaging, appreciative title, a curious child meets a variety of parrots. The human representative here is a brown-skinned kid with curly, dark hair; the parrot species introduced include cockatoos, macaws, lorikeets, and the solitary, flightless kakapo. As per series norm, the narrative consists of simple statements of facts set directly on cartoon spreads. Further facts appear in boxes while humorous commentary comes from parrots themselves in speech bubbles. Often what they say in jest reinforces facts that have been introduced. The kakapo complains about crowds when the protagonist shares information with two friends; and the hyacinth macaws regard habitat destruction and comment, “We should say something.” The humor is broad, sometimes cheerfully exaggerated, but often it introduces even more facts. Grey parrots are shown in lab experiments naming and describing objects—and also asking for a grant application to be typed, which makes an observing gorilla (gorillas have also learned to communicate with humans) remark that “apparently anything goes in this book.” There is clearly instructive purpose behind the zaniness that will make readers see parrots as more than just potential pets. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not just chatter, but a welcome and informative conclusion to a successful series of animal introductions. (further facts, further research) (Informational picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-23255-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
A sweet and endearing feathered migration.
A relationship between a Latina grandmother and her mixed-race granddaughter serves as the frame to depict the ruby-throated hummingbird migration pattern.
In Granny’s lap, a girl is encouraged to “keep still” as the intergenerational pair awaits the ruby-throated hummingbirds with bowls of water in their hands. But like the granddaughter, the tz’unun—“the word for hummingbird in several [Latin American] languages”—must soon fly north. Over the next several double-page spreads, readers follow the ruby-throated hummingbird’s migration pattern from Central America and Mexico through the United States all the way to Canada. Davies metaphorically reunites the granddaughter and grandmother when “a visitor from Granny’s garden” crosses paths with the girl in New York City. Ray provides delicately hashed lines in the illustrations that bring the hummingbirds’ erratic flight pattern to life as they travel north. The watercolor palette is injected with vibrancy by the addition of gold ink, mirroring the hummingbirds’ flashing feathers in the slants of light. The story is supplemented by notes on different pages with facts about the birds such as their nest size, diet, and flight schedule. In addition, a note about ruby-throated hummingbirds supplies readers with detailed information on how ornithologists study and keep track of these birds.
A sweet and endearing feathered migration. (bibliography, index) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0538-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
More thoughtful, sometimes exhilarating encounters with nature.
In a new entry in the Over and Under series, a paddleboarder glimpses humpback whales leaping, floats over a populous kelp forest, and explores life on a beach and in a tide pool.
In this tale inspired by Messner’s experiences in Monterey Bay in California, a young tan-skinned narrator, along with their light-skinned mom and tan-skinned dad, observes in quiet, lyrical language sights and sounds above and below the sea’s serene surface. Switching perspectives and angles of view and often leaving the family’s red paddleboards just tiny dots bobbing on distant swells, Neal’s broad seascapes depict in precise detail bat stars and anchovies, kelp bass, and sea otters going about their business amid rocky formations and the swaying fronds of kelp…and, further out, graceful moon jellies and—thrillingly—massive whales in open waters beneath gliding pelicans and other shorebirds. After returning to the beach at day’s end to search for shells and to spot anemones and decorator crabs, the child ends with nighttime dreams of stars in the sky meeting stars in the sea. Appended nature notes on kelp and 21 other types of sealife fill in details about patterns and relationships in this rich ecosystem. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
More thoughtful, sometimes exhilarating encounters with nature. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-79720-347-8
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
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