More than informative, this ecological adventure calls for action.
From microscopic organisms to apex predators, all life relies on Earth’s rich resources.
In this scientific exploration of the world, Ignotofsky (Women in Sports: 50 Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win, 2017, etc.) shows how living things interact with one another. The first part of the book covers concepts such as ecological organization, preparing readers to embark on an adventure from continent to continent. Every continent features a selection of specific ecosystems—North America’s redwood forests and mangrove swamps, for example—and highlights how each one benefits the world at large as well as what threats they face from human influence. After the world tour, Ignotofsky moves on to the cycles of nature and how humans interact with the environment. Although the book stresses the serious threats the environment faces, the tone encourages further education and action to help slow the destruction caused by climate change. Labeled, full-page illustrations sit side by side with the text, inviting readers to stop and explore. Diverse humans appear throughout the book, but while only showing up in a single instance, the depiction of a Native American scientist looks stereotypical despite the lab coat due to a long black braid; furthermore, what could be seen as a stylized cheekbone might well strike other readers as war paint. The text is divided into sections that make the book an accessible learning tool. Even with the distinct sections, however, Ignotofsky always returns to the larger theme of a connected world.
More than informative, this ecological adventure calls for action. (glossary, sources, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-399-58041-3
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fully fleshed and crisply told story of forensics at its romantic best.
Was Napoleon poisoned? Did King Rama VIII shoot himself? And just whose bones were found in the Temple prison? Only the bones know.
MacLeod provides here a neat introduction to the art and science of forensics, which examines the physical evidence of a death scene through DNA analysis, fingerprinting, bone analysis, autopsies, blood tests, X-rays and a slew of other high-tech methods. She examines seven particular cases in which the verdict had long been in dispute: the deaths of the Mayan royal family, Napoleon, the Man in the Iron Mask, King Rama VIII of Thailand, Grand Duchess Anastasia, King Tut and Marie-Antoinette’s son. Each episode is a taut short story, complete with historical context, conjectures, and plenty of background information and colorful minutiae (“Anastasia always had lots of energy, despite her painful bunions”). The canny unraveling of the evidence reveals the thought process of each forensic team. It will come as a shock to many that what they thought they knew about the deaths of these characters has been overthrown by recent forensic discoveries. In real life, forensics can be slow and tedious, but MacLeod invests these high-profile deaths with considerable vim and drama. A good selection of staged and archival photographs and artwork accompany the stories.
A fully fleshed and crisply told story of forensics at its romantic best. (glossary, sources, further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 10-12)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-55451-483-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A weak alternative to the author’s widely available single-subject titles.
A slapdash survey of oceanic science from the prolific veteran.
Surfing over topics he’s covered in his plethora of previous books, Simon offers general remarks about seas, waves, tides, storms, undersea mountains and volcanoes, sea life and climate change. As ever, the many big, clear nature photographs deliver delicious eye candy, but the author’s long-standing aversion to captions sometimes can leave readers frustrated or puzzled: What, for instance, is that gelatinous blob next to the whale shark, and why is the discussion of Arctic sea ice illustrated with two photos of a receding glacier on land? His proofreading could have been done with more care too, as one cut-and-pasted picture’s internal label includes an unexplained reference to “ASTER” (an Earth observation satellite), and his claim that the water temperature differential between El Nino and La Nina is “50° to 100°F” is off by a factor of 10 or more (though the Celsius equivalent provided in parentheses is not).
A weak alternative to the author’s widely available single-subject titles. (index, no bibliography, downloadable teacher’s guide requires sign-up) (Nonfiction. 10-13)Pub Date: April 2, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4521-0833-9
Page Count: 60
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2013
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