Facts about chlorophyll combine with a sense of wonder.
Art and text move through summer, fall, winter, and spring to explain the science behind the seasonal changes in deciduous trees.
“What kinds of leaves do you see in the summer?” The opening double-page spread has a stark white background. Seventeen different trees are represented by a scattered array of leaves—each carefully labeled—in many gradations of green. The enticing collage art uses negative space to show the veins. The page turn leads to additional glorious art, affirming the text’s use of such words as “emerald” and “jade.” Lush canopies of summer leaves part just enough to reveal, in the distance, people and a dog paddling a red canoe across a lake. Although all the illustrations concentrate on tree leaves, they occasionally include similar scenes of seasonal human activities—subtle reminders that humans are also affected by nature’s cycles. The text uses some anthropomorphism (trees and/or their leaves conceal “secrets,” “wait,” “make food,” and sleep) as it introduces young readers to chloroplasts, chlorophyll, plant cells, and the process of photosynthesis as well as the role of fallen leaves in an ecosystem. After the final double-page spread, which reveals a world returned to springtime, there are two pages written in a straightforward, scientific manner, supplementing the earlier text with further information about leaves—including differentiation between deciduous trees and evergreens and the names and characteristics of pigments hidden beneath a leaf’s chlorophyll.
Facts about chlorophyll combine with a sense of wonder. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5415-2899-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
Neither fish nor fowl…
Some readers might be familiar with birds that remove troublesome insects from large animals’ hides and maybe with wrasses and other animals that remove parasites from larger fish, but most will not have been exposed to the range of species and complexity of interactions that are described in this innocent-seeming picture book.
Each double-page spread consists of an introduction and brief paragraphs and illustrations arranged across the pages, Dorling Kindersley–style. The light-colored, humorous watercolor sketches of animals in their habitats have joke headings and speech balloons, and there are some funny sketches such as a hippo that gives a ride to a turtle and a heron. But the text of some of the spreads seems far too sophisticated for the age group for which the illustrations are apparently intended. A spread on bees and plants uses higher-level vocabulary—“Diligent pollinators” reads one heading—and kids reading this would certainly need an adult on hand to explain concepts and words. The approach seems problematic; nerdy kids with a real interest in interspecies interaction may find the illustrations too low-level to be engaging, and kids who enjoy the artwork may well not be able to understand the text. It almost feels like a high school chapter on symbiosis masquerading as a children’s picture book.
Neither fish nor fowl… .(Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-912006-48-9
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Scribblers/Sterling
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
Budding meteorologists have no shortage of introductory books from which to choose, but the clean design may help this one...
An inviting photographic guide to the strange and surprising state of air all around us.
Bold photographs and color-coded chapters slice this info-packed primer into manageable portions. Each section of standard weather fare (hot, cold, wind, and rain) has a dedicated background tone, while brief mentions of weather folklore, scientific tools, and climate change complete the package. Questions to readers printed in text boxes lend themselves to further conversation, while brightly colored bubbles shout small facts and tidbits. De Seve neatly relates lessons to everyday life, as when she suggests readers imagine steam from a pot when talking about clouds. Intriguing extras include the Beaufort scale and the list of possible hurricane names for the years 2015 through 2020—which readers will quickly scour to see if their own names made the cut. Alas, the text doesn’t mention the practice of retiring names, so some astute kids may wonder why well-known past storms aren’t included. Games at the ends of chapters are meant to reinforce lessons learned, but most are just quick puzzles to add a bit of liveliness. The variety of skin tones of humans portrayed in the carefully chosen photographs is appreciated.
Budding meteorologists have no shortage of introductory books from which to choose, but the clean design may help this one stand out. (parent tips, glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 6-8)Pub Date: July 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4263-2719-3
Page Count: 132
Publisher: National Geographic Kids
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
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