by Nicholas Forshaw , Patrick Skipworth & Christopher Lloyd ; illustrated by Andy Forshaw ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2018
Serviceable, if a bit dry.
An overview of the dino clan, featuring a populous fold-out timeline of the Mesozoic Era.
The book opens with a perfunctory setup in which Eric Eagle, intrepid librarian, is sent back in time to “file a report on the entire history of the dinosaurs.” Following this, a set of sober-sided disquisitions survey the history of dino-discovery, then dinosaur hip bones, lives, diversity of forms, adaptations, extinction, and modern successors. Forshaw’s painted group and individual portraits are all likewise staid (some predators do at least have bloodless bits of prey hanging from their mouths), but there are a lot of dinosaurs on view, systematically identified and dated. There is also a portrait gallery of paleontologists, all (like “Agent Eagle”) white but two of whom are living women. The accordion-folded timeline, which is one-sided and perforated for easy removal, begins with the Triassic Period, ends in a truncated view of the Cenozoic (with a chicken), and is thick with both colorfully patterned creatures and short, descriptive annotations for each. Three sets of easy quizzes allow young fans to see how much of the “reports” they have retained. Bugs!, also by the same authorial team but with illustrations by William Exley, opens with a virtually identical setup and proceeds to cover the “bug” world in similar fashion.
Serviceable, if a bit dry. (Nonfiction. 9-11)Pub Date: April 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-995577-0-53
Page Count: 46
Publisher: What on Earth Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
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More In The Series
by Nick Forshaw ; illustrated by William Exley
edited by Kazu Kibuishi
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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BOOK REVIEW
by Elaine Landau & illustrated by Brian Lies
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BOOK REVIEW
by Kelly Millner Halls ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 25, 2011
All those hundreds of witnesses and researchers can’t be wrong, can they? (Nonfiction. 9-11)
A true believer presents the evidence.
Expanding on a partial chapter in her outstanding Tales of the Cryptids (2006), Halls makes her case by tallying Native American legends, the many footprints and reported sightings (a map of the latter claims hundreds from every state except Hawaii), the famous Patterson-Gimlin film, the recorded “Sierra Sounds” and other circumstantial evidence. She also interviews scientists and Sasquatch hunters, includes an account of early searches for Tibet’s Yeti, adds the transcript of a panicky 911 call and even covers some proven hoaxes. She maintains a believer's voice, gently challenging refuseniks: "Serious Sasquatch hunters are as skeptical as unbelievers. They are not out to collect great stories. They are out to put together facts. Proof. The difference is, they are willing to keep an open mind." Illustrated with photos, drawings and archival images aplenty and closing with generous lists of print, Web and video resources this is about as convincing as it gets—considering the continuing absence of any incontrovertible physical proof—and should give young cryptid hunters a good hairy leg up on investigations of their own.
All those hundreds of witnesses and researchers can’t be wrong, can they? (Nonfiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-25761-7
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
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More by Kelly Millner Halls
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by Kelly Millner Halls & illustrated by Rick C. Spears
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edited by Kelly Millner Halls
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