by Niki Ahrens ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 2, 2021
Something old, something new, some with batter, some are blue, and lots of projects here to do!
Kitchen science experiments may be reaching peak popularity thanks to at-home learning.
In an era of learning at home in unprecedented numbers, caregivers may take comfort in this collection of eight different kitchen projects from the STEM-oriented nonprofit Science Buddies. Ahrens offers a mix of old favorites alongside new ideas: The classic rock-candy experiment is here, but the equally hoary baking-soda volcano has been upgraded to a baking soda volcano in a lemon. Kids may have seen make-your-own-ice-cream projects; Ahrens gives the notion a bit of a twist with a make-your-own-slushy activity. And though readers may have seen recipes for baked Alaska like the one on offer here, less common is the opportunity to make edible paper out of rice flour and potato starch. Eye-popping color photographs, many featuring families of color at work, are enticing accompaniments to each of these projects. The science, alas, takes up far less space. Every experiment featured here includes five or six sentences labeled “Science Takeaway.” These brief summaries cover the rudimentary scientific principles at work, but caregivers may feel the need to supplement them with additional information and books of their own. Additional online information includes more experiments, discussions of scientists and their work, and complementary videos.
Something old, something new, some with batter, some are blue, and lots of projects here to do! (glossary, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-72841-468-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lerner
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
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by Niki Ahrens
by Kate Messner ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2022
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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by Kate Messner ; illustrated by MacKenzie Haley
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by Kate Messner ; illustrated by Heather Ross
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by Grace Lin & Kate Messner ; illustrated by Grace Lin
by Kari Lavelle ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 11, 2023
A gleeful game for budding naturalists.
Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.
In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781728271170
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
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by Kari Lavelle ; illustrated by Nabi H. Ali
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