by Mindy Thomas & Guy Raz ; illustrated by Jack Teagle ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 2, 2021
A clever, high-energy crowd pleaser well founded in facts—the grosser the better.
An effervescent tour of the preteen “walking, talking, barfing, breathing, pooping body of wow!”
The hosts of NPR podcast Wow in the World lose none of their energy or comic timing in reeling off a highlights-style swing through pubescent anatomy from brain (“it’s what makes up your mind”) to butt. Though the section on the reproductive system is conspicuously sparse on specifics, care is taken to discuss the complexity of sexual identity, and a Let’s Play Puberty! board game features the appearance of “lumps” on throats and chests. Any readers yearning for poop on poop, not to mention boogers (and “eye boogers”), earwax, mucus, spit, intestinal gas, body odors, and blood, will be well served, though. The instructions for creating dental cavities and other dubious projects are justly labeled “Don’t try this at home!” Amid the laffs the authors deliver a solid load of accurate basic information about organs and body systems. Teagle follows suit with cartoon scenes of animated body parts and of the White authors with a racially diverse cast of other humans (some who use wheelchairs) all looking dismayed or excited and often associated with splatters of green gas or goo. Maris Wicks’ unsurpassed Human Body Theater (2015) caps a select but audience-friendly reading list at the end, next to a set of QR codes leading to relevant episodes of the podcast.
A clever, high-energy crowd pleaser well founded in facts—the grosser the better. (glossary, source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 8-11)Pub Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-358-30663-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
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PERSPECTIVES
by Alexandra Siy ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2001
In this glossy photo essay, the author briefly recounts the study and exploration of the moon, beginning with Stonehenge and concluding with the 1998–99 unmanned probe, Lunar Prospector. Most of the dramatic photographs come from NASA and will introduce a new generation of space enthusiasts to the past missions of Project Mercury, Gemini, and most especially the moon missions, Apollo 1–17. There are plenty of photographs of various astronauts in space capsules, space suits, and walking on the moon. Sometimes photographs are superimposed one on another, making it difficult to read. For example, one photograph shows the command module Columbia as photographed from the lunar module and an insert shows the 15-layer space suit and gear Neil Armstrong would wear for moonwalking. That’s a lot to process on one page. Still, the awesome images of footprints on the moon, raising the American flag, and earthrise from the moon, cannot help but raise shivers. The author concludes with a timeline of exploration, Web sites, recommended books, and picture credits. For NASA memorabilia collectors, end papers show the Apollo space badges for missions 11–17. Useful for replacing aging space titles. (Nonfiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-57091-408-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
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by Alexandra Siy ; illustrated by Marlo Garnsworthy
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by Alexandra Siy ; photographed by Dennis Kunkel
by Elaine Landau ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2011
The cleanup, finger pointing, litigation and economic recovery are still ongoing, but this overview of the Deepwater Horizon disaster offers a short and coherent account of the spill itself, the well’s eventual capping and, in broad strokes, the immediate environmental impact. Noting that the initial explosion occurred the very night of a ceremony commending the crew’s safety record (but not going into the long tally of construction shortcuts that made that ceremony so disingenuous), Landau provides a linear nonjudgmental account of major events between the April 20 eruption and the announcement of a permanent plug on Sep. 19, 2010. Big color photos add views of the platform burning, ships cleaning up oil slicks, oil-soaked wildlife and damaged coastal areas, along with smaller murky pictures of the failed blowout preventer on the ocean floor and the replacement cap. Additional graphics provide clear views of the technology—the rig itself, a cross-section of the blowout preventer and the relief well in relation to the original well—and a map of the Gulf coastline shows the affected areas. Limited, out of date and entirely based on secondary sources as it is, this still presents younger audiences a slightly more complete picture than Mona Chiang’s Oil Spill Disaster (2000). Includes eco-activities, resource lists and a tally of other major spills. (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: April 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7613-7485-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Millbrook
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2011
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by Elaine Landau & illustrated by Brian Lies
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