A moving story of resilience in a changing world.
Climate change forces emperor penguins to move to new nesting sites.
Scientists observing emperor penguins from satellites in space (an effective way to monitor these inaccessible nesting grounds) have determined that climate change has made the Halley Bay winter sea ice unreliable. The “thousands upon thousands of emperors” that once nested there have moved elsewhere. Davies weaves this disturbing consequence of climate change into a gentle, positive account of a pair of these penguins raising a chick in a hostile environment. Rayner’s stunning, full-bleed illustrations complement the text and show off the Antarctic’s changing colors. In an early spread, we see the colony from afar, tiny figures with long shadows. Later close-ups show courtship, then the father with their egg nestled securely over his feet in his pouch, and, finally, a crowd of penguins with their chicks. But before the hatching, over the long, lonely winter, the father stands isolated in a snowstorm, and his mate swims hundreds of miles to get food to bring back. Happily, the last spread shows even more penguin colonies as the text reassures us that, at least for now, the penguins from Halley Bay have found new homes. Once again, zoologist Davies’ enthusiasm for the natural world and her ability to shed light on it for a young audience are on full display. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A moving story of resilience in a changing world. (note from biologist Dr. Phil Trathan, information on emperor penguins and climate change) (Informational picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5362-2839-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
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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