Fresh from their dive into Poop: A Natural History of the Unmentionable (2004), Davies and Layton introduce a menagerie of survivors who have adapted to the worst conditions that nature can dish out. With plenty of Layton’s daffy, digitally colored cartoons to add both detail and flights of fancy (“Live Naked” proclaims a polar bear’s signboard), Davies conveys readers from the Arctic’s far-below-zero temperatures to the 200-plus degree heat near a volcano’s rim, from sunless “black smokers” on the sea bottom to harsh deserts. She not only identifies denizens of each clime, but also explains how, for instance, Emperor penguins keep their feet warm, wood frogs can survive being frozen and thawed and camels prevent their sensitive brains from overheating. In the end, the author presents persuasive reasons for awarding the “Truly Toughest Extreme Animal” trophy not to humans (“We humans are such a bunch of wimps!”), but to the lowly water bear. Fine fare for younger naturalists. (index, glossary) (Nonfiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-7636-3067-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2006
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale.
After a tsunami devastates their habitat in the Salish Sea, a young orca and her brother embark on a remarkable adventure.
Vega’s matriarchal family expects her to become a hunter and wayfinder, with her younger brother, Deneb, protecting and supporting her. Invited to guide her family to their Gathering Place to hunt salmon, Vega’s underwater miscalculations endanger them all, and an embarrassed Vega questions whether she should be a wayfinder. When the baby sister she hoped would become her life companion is stillborn, a distraught Vega carries the baby away to a special resting place, shocking her grieving family. Dispatched to find his missing sister, Deneb locates Vega in the midst of a terrible tsunami. To escape the waters polluted by shattered boats, Vega leads Deneb into unfamiliar open sea. Alone and hungry, the young siblings encounter a spectacular giant whale and travel briefly with shark-hunting orcas. Trusting her instincts and gaining emotional strength from contemplating the vastness of the sky, Vega knows she must lead her brother home and help save her surviving family. In alternating first-person voices, Vega and Deneb tell their harrowing story, engaging young readers while educating them about the marine ecosystem. Realistic black-and-white illustrations enhance the maritime setting.
A dramatic, educational, authentic whale of a tale. (maps, wildlife facts, tribes of the Salish Sea watershed, environmental and geographical information, how to help orcas, author’s note, artist’s note, resources) (Animal fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-299592-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
Varieties, life cycle, pack and hunting behavior, and the current status of this endangered predator—although with what may seem too many transparently rhetorical questions (``Are wolves savage and destructive hunters of people and livestock?'') and fillers (``After wolves kill a large animal, they may rest for a brief time or eat right away''). Without attribution, Simon states that ``...there is no record of a healthy wolf ever trying to kill a human in North America.'' In Gray Wolf, Red Wolf (1990, for slightly older readers), Patent is more precise: ``there is no record of a healthy wild wolf attacking a human.'' Patent also does a better job of stating the case for and against reintroducing wolves in national parks. Still, though his text isn't up to his usual high standard, Simon again selects outstanding photos—this book's strongest and most appealing feature. (Nonfiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 30, 1993
ISBN: 0-06-022531-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1993
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