Arigatou gozaimasu for entertaining enlightenment! (Nonfiction. 9-14)
“To find these animal ninja…you must know where to look.”
That sentence ends a two-page introduction that gives a simple history and definition of human practitioners of ninjutsu (“the art of the ninja”) and invites readers to learn about animals that exhibit similar, extraordinary “skills.” The pages that follow offer fascinating facts, appealing design, and eye-catching illustrations. Symbolic art that mimics universal directional signs is used to show nine different ninja skills of more than nine different animals. Bright ink over a dark background lists each skill in romanized Japanese, with a clear definition beneath it. Colorful, high-resolution photography captures such sights as the boiling-hot spray issuing from the bombardier beetle while equally colorful drawings are used to further illustrate the physical capabilities of geckos and collector urchins. (Readers might have an inkling about the fine hairs that allow geckos to stick to surfaces and perform remarkable releases, but who knew that the collector urchin, when threatened, sends out tiny triangular protuberances with their own sets of snapping jaws?!) The text, which is accessible without condescension, also includes information about methods for studying and documenting the animals’ amazing characteristics and the names of scientists and institutions associated with the studies. More than once, the text encourages emerging scientists by noting that this research is current and ongoing—and that the more scientists learn, the more there is to learn.
Arigatou gozaimasu for entertaining enlightenment! (Nonfiction. 9-14)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5415-4241-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care.
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)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3077-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
A splendid volume for young adventurers.
Based on her work with middle-school students, Long offers lessons on how to stay healthy and out of trouble while awaiting rescue, the same lessons taught to adults in her survival classes.
Her matter-of-fact, no-nonsense tone will play well with young readers, and the clear writing style is appropriate to the content. The engaging guide covers everything from building shelters to avoiding pigs and javelinas. With subjects like kissing bugs, scorpions, snow blindness and “How going to the bathroom can attract bears and mountain lions,” the volume invites browsing as much as studying. The information offered is sometimes obvious: “If you find yourself facing an alligator, get away from it”; sometime humorous: Raccoons will “fight with your dog, steal all your food, then climb up a tree and call you bad names in raccoon language”; and sometimes not comforting: “When alligators attack on land, they usually make one grab at you; if they miss, you are usually safe.” But when survival is at stake, the more information the better, especially when leavened with some wit. An excellent bibliography will lead young readers to a host of fascinating websites, and 150 clipart-style line drawings complement the text.
A splendid volume for young adventurers. (index not seen) (Nonfiction. 9-14)Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-56976-708-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
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