Like most yogis it’s not perfect—but it’s an economical and nonthreatening way to begin a yoga practice.
Clean layout, swirly page decorations, simple explanations, and a friendly tone will help this title find its preteen audience.
Reassuring explanations of general yoga principles are followed by step-by-step instructions. Each pose gets its own page, though exactly how to achieve each posture is not always clear from the picture. An energizing sequence unfolds in 18 lavender pages; a calming sequence follows on 17 light blue pages. The flow between poses is not shown. Corpse Pose is shown only at the end even though Savasana often both starts and finishes practices. Appropriate cautions are on almost every spread (“If this feels too intense…”), but postures are shown in their most advanced versions and modifications are not illustrated. Readers are reminded to do the asymmetrical poses on both sides, but these poses are not labeled as such. The English name of each pose is followed by the Sanskrit word highlighted in pink (sans pronunciation guide). Thick board covers help the pages lay flat, making the book easy to consult during an exercise sequence. Almost all the figures shown are female and white. Every five or six pages, a male demonstrates a pose. Apparently chubby kids don’t do yoga; all the images are slim. More detailed discussions of breath work and meditation plus internet resources, a glossary, and an index complete the package.
Like most yogis it’s not perfect—but it’s an economical and nonthreatening way to begin a yoga practice. (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: April 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-63322-319-6
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Walter Foster Jr.
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017
Occasionally clever—fifth-grade boys will love it.
“There is a lot of nonsense written about the human body,” writes the author, “and this book is no exception.”
Though not quite making good on his promise of “100 percent fact-free chapters,” (he does accurately describe “chondrolaryngoplasty”) Griffiths’ anatomical tour in general steers clear of anything that would be marked as correct on a test. From “Ears can be big or small, depending on their size” to “Capillaries are the larval form of butterflies,” he offers pithy inanities about 68 mostly real body features. Though he closes every entry with “That is all you need to know about…,” he then goes on to regale readers with the news that the epiglottis was named after a Greek philosopher and other “Fun Body Facts.” Similarly, noting that his illustrations “may not be scientifically accurate” (the understatement of the decade), Denton nonetheless provides on nearly every spread profusely labeled, free-association cartoon views of each body part. These are filled out with tiny figures, mechanical apparatus and miscellaneous junk. Though serious young researchers may be disappointed to find the “Private Parts” pages blacked out, a full index follows to provide ready access to any references to poo, pus, farts, drool, “sneeze-powered missiles” and like essentials.
Occasionally clever—fifth-grade boys will love it. (Humor. 10-12)Pub Date: Nov. 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-312-36790-9
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Aug. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Riveting as well as enlightening, this is built on a largely sturdy historical base.
Huey, an archaeologist, explains just why time travel is not for the weak of stomach.
Ah, the pleasures of a quick trip back to the 18th century—when people emptied chamber pots out of windows, free-roaming animals dumped poop on city streets, clothes were seemingly designed to be uncomfortable, and baths were rare (but infestations of lice, bedbugs, flies and intestinal parasites were not). Images of bugs scuttling over period illustrations and photos of pests and artifacts add vividly evocative notes to this rousingly unappetizing survey of the time’s fashions, living conditions and (lack of) sanitary practices. The author limits her purview to North American residents of European and African descent in, by and large, urban locales and doesn’t always get her facts straight (yes, there are mosquito species native to Europe). She strews her already sensational narrative with superfluous, boldface insertions of “Eew!” and “Gross!” Still, aside from one photo of a smallpox sufferer that may cross over, she ably walks the line that separates deliciously disgusting from genuinely disturbing.
Riveting as well as enlightening, this is built on a largely sturdy historical base. (endnotes, annotated reading and website lists, places to visit, index) (Nonfiction. 10-13)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7613-9091-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
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