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THE PLASTIC PROBLEM

Name: THE PLASTIC PROBLEM
Author: Rachel Salt
ISBN: 978-0-2281-0223-6

by Rachel Salt ; illustrated by Jackie Roche ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2019

A well-paced, current look at a major global issue with high visual interest and reader appeal.

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This nonfiction book for middle graders covers everything from how plastic is made to its environmental impacts.

The “plastic problem” itself is a big, sticky one, but this well-organized and concise approach makes the topic digestible. Salt conveys a sense of urgency without bias, beginning with a simple explanation of how plastic is made—complete with a helpful chart comparing a paperclip chain to polymers—and ending with a call to action. She makes the topic accessible to young readers by including information about such topics as Lego bricks and a fascinating section that answers the question “Is there plastic in me?” Salt discusses the realities of global waste-management disparities, deftly explaining how the trash of a rich economy becomes the pollution problem of a vulnerable one. The book is visually appealing, with photographs—some quite modern and artful—alongside illustrations. Unhelpfully, however, the photographs that appear to be of actual places aren’t always labeled clearly. The sidebars are purposeful and flow nicely. A particular standout compares plastic nurdles—tiny bits of plastic shipped around the globe to be made into any number of different plastic products—and herring fish eggs, difficult to distinguish for humans and hungry birds alike. The book closes with concrete steps readers can take to make a dent in the problem.

A well-paced, current look at a major global issue with high visual interest and reader appeal. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 9-12)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-2281-0223-6

Page Count: 80

Publisher: Firefly

Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HISTORY | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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FLASH FACTS

edited by Mayim Bialik ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 2, 2021

Contentwise, an arbitrary assortment…but sure to draw fans of comics, of science, or of both.

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Flash, Batman, and other characters from the DC Comics universe tackle supervillains and STEM-related topics and sometimes, both.

Credited to 20 writers and illustrators in various combinations, the 10 episodes invite readers to tag along as Mera and Aquaman visit oceanic zones from epipelagic to hadalpelagic; Supergirl helps a young scholar pick a science-project topic by taking her on a tour of the solar system; and Swamp Thing lends Poison Ivy a hand to describe how DNA works (later joining Swamp Kid to scuttle a climate-altering scheme by Arcane). In other episodes, various costumed creations explain the ins and outs of diverse large- and small-scale phenomena, including electricity, atomic structure, forensic techniques, 3-D printing, and the lactate threshold. Presumably on the supposition that the characters will be more familiar to readers than the science, the minilectures tend to start from simple basics, but the figures are mostly both redrawn to look more childlike than in the comics and identified only in passing. Drawing styles and page designs differ from chapter to chapter but not enough to interrupt overall visual unity and flow—and the cast is sufficiently diverse to include roles for superheroes (and villains) of color like Cyborg, Kid Flash, and the Latina Green Lantern, Jessica Cruz. Appended lists of websites and science-based YouTube channels, plus instructions for homespun activities related to each episode, point inspired STEM-winders toward further discoveries.

Contentwise, an arbitrary assortment…but sure to draw fans of comics, of science, or of both. (Graphic nonfiction. 9-12)

Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-77950-382-4

Page Count: 160

Publisher: DC

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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by Mayim Bialik

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GIRLING UP
by Mayim Bialik ; illustrated by Siobhán Gallagher

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OIL

by Jonah Winter ; illustrated by Jeanette Winter ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2020

Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care.

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In 1977, the oil carrier Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil into a formerly pristine Alaskan ocean inlet, killing millions of birds, animals, and fish. Despite a cleanup, crude oil is still there.

The Winters foretold the destructive powers of the atomic bomb allusively in The Secret Project (2017), leaving the actuality to the backmatter. They make no such accommodations to young audiences in this disturbing book. From the dark front cover, on which oily blobs conceal a seabird, to the rescuer’s sad face on the back, the mother-son team emphasizes the disaster. A relatively easy-to-read and poetically heightened text introduces the situation. Oil is pumped from the Earth “all day long, all night long, / day after day, year after year” in “what had been unspoiled land, home to Native people // and thousands of caribou.” The scale of extraction is huge: There’s “a giant pipeline” leading to “enormous ships.” Then, crash. Rivers of oil gush out over three full-bleed wordless pages. Subsequent scenes show rocks, seabirds, and sea otters covered with oil. Finally, 30 years later, animals have returned to a cheerful scene. “But if you lift a rock… // oil / seeps / up.” For an adult reader, this is heartbreaking. How much more difficult might this be for an animal-loving child?

Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 9-12)