Designed for short attention spans and impulse buys, this sourceless, authorless (Jo Connor is listed on the copyright page as originator of the concept) Q&A poses and answers a variety of science queries in no discernible order (“How did ancient Egyptians preserve their dead? How quickly can you sail around the world? How hot is the Sun?”), adding a tangential fact-ish aside to each. Bryant’s stylish cartoon illustrations, mostly colored in green and yellow, incorporate the text in bubbles and boxes and feature a rotund little Pikachu-like creature, popeyed humanoids and the occasional animal falling, floating, bounding by or posing in a comical way. The answers range from general to simplistic (“How do things appear on TV?” rates a mention of broadcast TV only, accompanied by an image of a ’60s-style console) to outright wrong—no, astronauts don’t float in space because Earth’s gravity is too weak, as claimed in the companion Book of...Why? (ISBN: 978-0-7534-6396-3). A closing glossary and pop quiz don’t make these empty calories any more intellectually nourishing. (Informational pop tarts. 8-11)
Pub Date: April 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7534-6398-7
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Kingfisher
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2010
Amanda is Walter's only friend; she knows he dreads Valentine's Day, when he'll be publicly humiliated as the least popular fifth grader, so she stuffs the class Valentine box with 50 cards, all addressed to Walter in different handwritings. It transpires that every other fifth grader believes that everyone else has noticed hitherto unappreciated qualities in Walter, and, not wanting to be hindmost, each avidly courts him. Amanda is chagrined by Walter's reaction to his sudden popularity—he hardly has time to speak to her—but by book's end they're putting their friendship into a new, mutually satisfactory balance. Lightweight and only marginally amusing. For an easily read valentine story with similar circumstances but more interesting characters and a more substantial story, try Barbara Cohen's 213 Valentines (p. 1008). (Fiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: Jan. 30, 1992
ISBN: 0-02-789692-7
Page Count: 144
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1991
BOOK REVIEW
Based on a journal and an unpublished manuscript, a brief, surprisingly lifeless account of the boyhood of one of Indianapolis's first settlers. Among other activities, Elijah Fletcher leaves home to attend a new school as a boarder; rescues his brother, who has inadvertently stowed away on a paddlewheel boat; and goes to the Marion County Fair. Unfortunately, the text jumps from one episode to another, each so sketchily narrated that it's hard to develop either much interest in Elijah or much understanding of what his life was really like. Henry does provide information like the name of the man who had the first brick house in Indianapolis—a person who doesn't figure otherwise here and, like the book, isn't likely to interest most young readers. Illustrations not seen. (Fiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: March 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-02-743671-3
Page Count: 39
Publisher: Four Winds/MacMillan
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1992
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