Content takes a back seat to production value in this glossy, oversized, superficial survey of space exploration. De Goursac opens invitingly enough—“This is your universe. Let’s take off into space!” But then he launches a look at the history of rockets, the U.S. space program and past and present exploratory missions to the (nine) planets that is not only routine, but so ridden with generalities that he seldom even identifies the astronauts in the pictures. Laye decorates each single-topic spread with a crudely drawn vignette or two, but the main visual events are the undifferentiated arrays of big, dazzling space photos and dramatic artists’ renditions that dominate each opening. Tasty eye candy, to be sure, deserving more than a narrative that quaintly uses only the male pronoun, barely notes that the space effort is international, and, when it comes to Pluto “and Beyond,” presents now-outdated information. The last may hardly be the author’s fault, but it weakens the appeal even further—as does the lack of an index or any leads to further resources. At best, a candidate for low-browsing orbit. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-8109-5719-1
Page Count: 78
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2006
Remarking that ``nothing about the weather is very simple,'' Simon goes on to describe how the sun, atmosphere, earth's rotation, ground cover, altitude, pollution, and other factors influence it; briefly, he also tells how weather balloons gather information. Even for this outstanding author, it's a tough, complex topic, and he's not entirely successful in simplifying it; moreover, the import of the striking uncaptioned color photos here isn't always clear. One passage—``Cumulus clouds sometimes build up into towering masses called cumulus congestus, or swelling cumulus, which may turn into cumulonimbus clouds''—is superimposed on a blue-gray, cloud-covered landscape. But which kind of clouds are these? Another photo, in blue-black and white, shows what might be precipitation in the upper atmosphere, or rain falling on a darkened landscape, or...? Generally competent and certainly attractive, but not Simon's best. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-688-10546-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1993
Miranda’s book counts the monsters gathering at a birthday party, while a simple rhyming text keeps the tally and surveys the action: “Seven starved monsters are licking the dishes./Eight blow out candles and make birthday wishes.” The counting proceeds to ten, then by tens to fifty, then gradually returns to one, which makes the monster’s mother, a purple pin-headed octopus, very happy. The book is surprisingly effective due to Powell’s artwork; the color has texture and density, as if it were poured onto the page, but the real attention-getter is the singularity of every monster attendee. They are highly individual and, therefore, eminently countable. As the numbers start crawling upward, it is both fun and a challenge to try to recognize monsters who have appeared in previous pages, or to attempt to stay focused when counting the swirling or bunched creatures. The story has glints of humor, and in combination with the illustrations is a grand addition to the counting shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201835-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
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