Lace up those boots! An original, inspired account of a stalwart backpacker’s story sure to spur readers to take a hike.
A World War II veteran becomes the first person to hike the Appalachian Trail continuously from end to end.
It’s 1945, and Earl Shaffer feels lost and depressed. Seeking the “restorative embrace of nature,” he decides to “walk the war out of [his] system.” Using tidbits from Shaffer’s own journal, McCarthy shares general hiking information while meticulously charting Shaffer’s journey from Georgia to Maine. Like the Appalachian Trail, the narrative is lengthy, but those who persevere will be glad they did. Well-chosen anecdotes are captivating, sharing how Shaffer forwent socks in order to toughen his feet, recounting his brush with a naughty raccoon, and re-creating the “selfie” he took marking the end of his historic trip. Quotations from Shaffer’s notebooks, printed in a handwriting typeface, give readers a sense of his keen mind and dry wit: “Sang Lullaby Yodel as I hiked. My voice must terrify wild things.” The author concludes by discussing Shaffer’s lifelong advocacy for the trail; the book is capped by in-depth backmatter. Handsome acrylic paintings with McCarthy’s signature large-eyed, cartoon-style caricatures atop more realistic landscapes tell stories all their own. A gorgeously striated fire providing warmth, a swimmer in a vast, painterly lake, or a dwarfed Shaffer traversing overgrown paths all communicate the expansiveness of the trek. Grounded palettes evoke ruggedness, while Polaroid-like vignettes create a documentary feel.
Lace up those boots! An original, inspired account of a stalwart backpacker’s story sure to spur readers to take a hike. (author’s note, bibliography, photos, map, glossary) (Picture-book biography. 5-11)Pub Date: June 16, 2026
ISBN: 9781665949941
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
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
A gleeful game for budding naturalists.
Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.
In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781728271170
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
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