Sits nicely at the intersection of beautiful and useful.
Art meets science in this highly visual, concise trip through the universe and planet Earth.
In this bright and appealing book, Giménez combines attractive, purposeful infographics with approachable, digestible text. The work is divided into sections focusing on the universe, the Earth, water, and climate, and for each topic, Giménez uses a different palette—pages devoted to the vastness of the universe and the Big Bang make use of midnight blues, black, and fiery reds, for example. These pages focus on the orbits of the planets, the sun depicted in a hue that looks to be derived from the red of the Big Bang. The images are the stars of the show; a graph of river lengths and a chart of mountain peaks and ocean depths are especially well done. The text is centered on each page against a bold, solid-colored background; effective use of negative space eliminates the overwhelming feeling of wordier nonfiction. Giménez plays with larger or bolded fonts to highlight important statements. A solid introduction to a variety of subjects, this book features fascinating facts while maintaining a good pace with plenty of stimulating visuals.
Sits nicely at the intersection of beautiful and useful. (glossary, sources) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 24, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64614-130-2
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Levine Querido
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
With young readers diagnosed with anxiety in ever increasing numbers, this book offers a necessary mirror to many.
Young Raina is 9 when she throws up for the first time that she remembers, due to a stomach bug. Even a year later, when she is in fifth grade, she fears getting sick.
Raina begins having regular stomachaches that keep her home from school. She worries about sharing food with her friends and eating certain kinds of foods, afraid of getting sick or food poisoning. Raina’s mother enrolls her in therapy. At first Raina isn’t sure about seeing a therapist, but over time she develops healthy coping mechanisms to deal with her stress and anxiety. Her therapist helps her learn to ground herself and relax, and in turn she teaches her classmates for a school project. Amping up the green, wavy lines to evoke Raina’s nausea, Telgemeier brilliantly produces extremely accurate visual representations of stress and anxiety. Thought bubbles surround Raina in some panels, crowding her with anxious “what if”s, while in others her negative self-talk appears to be literally crushing her. Even as she copes with anxiety disorder and what is eventually diagnosed as mild irritable bowel syndrome, she experiences the typical stresses of school life, going from cheer to panic in the blink of an eye. Raina is white, and her classmates are diverse; one best friend is Korean American.
With young readers diagnosed with anxiety in ever increasing numbers, this book offers a necessary mirror to many. (Graphic memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-545-85251-7
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
The app takes advantage of zoom features to take readers through panel by panel, providing a sense of forward motion that...
Traditionally a paper-based series, Middle School Confidential adapts its first graphic novel to the iPad leveraging the device’s functionality to infuse a wide variety of sounds, short songs and character voices.
The app takes advantage of zoom features to take readers through panel by panel, providing a sense of forward motion that synchronizes well with the text’s format. Divided into eight chapters, the story introduces relevant teen topics such as body image, self-esteem, popularity and stress through short, everyday interactions among a group of six male and female friends. To round out each chapter, a teen presents a related short message that’s more public-service announcement than component of the story, which may feel over the top to the audience. Each character is presented through actions and dialogue in the short chapters and with a brief bio that includes his or her strengths and insecurities. Additionally, each bio includes an e-mail address, which links to the iPad’s e-mail function; there is no indication of who will actually receive a reader’s e-mail message and what if any response such an e-mail might trigger. The images in the line-and-watercolor panels mirror and reinforce the characters’ related emotions or actions.Pub Date: April 1, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2011
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