Amiable and, like the creepy-crawlies themselves, easy to digest.
An appreciative tour of the insect world, with a focus on select members’ notable features and behaviors.
In animated language, Jones profiles 15 six-legged “heroes”—from the “Hero of Glowing,” better known as the common eastern firefly, to the carpenter ant, or the “Hero of Teamwork”—in order to show off some of the many ways insects have adapted over millions of years to fill various environmental niches. Along with repeatedly noting that people across the world dine on these creatures (many are “high in protein and have a low environmental impact”), he also points to significant historical connections between bugs and humans, such as an 8,000-year-old wall painting of a human figure collecting honey produced by wild bees; he also spotlights the grain weevil, which once subsisted entirely on stored wheat and no longer even exists in the wild. Meadows’ artfully posed, accurately detailed images of insects in various stages of development, usually identified by scientific species labels, crawl or flit in profusion across the pages. Though the author offers no leads to further information beyond a handful of websites, he suggests that readers really need only get down on hands and knees to “discover the tiny creatures that keep the world running.” “Trust me,” he writes. “I’m an entomologist!”
Amiable and, like the creepy-crawlies themselves, easy to digest. (glossary) (Nonfiction. 7-9)Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781419786686
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Magic Cat
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe.
An introduction to gravity.
The book opens with the most iconic demonstration of gravity, an apple falling. Throughout, Herz tackles both huge concepts—how gravity compresses atoms to form stars and how black holes pull all kinds of matter toward them—and more concrete ones: how gravity allows you to jump up and then come back down to the ground. Gravity narrates in spare yet lyrical verse, explaining how it creates planets and compresses atoms and comparing itself to a hug. “My embrace is tight enough that you don’t float like a balloon, but loose enough that you can run and leap and play.” Gravity personifies itself at times: “I am stubborn—the bigger things are, the harder I pull.” Beautiful illustrations depict swirling planets and black holes alongside racially diverse children playing, running, and jumping, all thanks to gravity. Thorough backmatter discusses how Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity and explains Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. While at times Herz’s explanations may be a bit too technical for some readers, burgeoning scientists will be drawn in.
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe. (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: April 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668936849
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tilbury House
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
A lighthearted first look at an increasingly useful skill.
Grown-ups may not be the only audience for this simple explanation of how algorithms work.
Taking a confused-looking hipster parent firmly in hand, a child first points to all the computers around the house (“Pro Tip: When dealing with grown-ups, don’t jump into the complicated stuff too fast. Start with something they already know”). Next, the child leads the adult outside to make and follow step-by-step directions for getting to the park, deciding which playground equipment to use, and finally walking home. Along the way, concepts like conditionals and variables come into play in street maps and diagrams, and a literal bug stands in for the sort that programmers will inevitably need to find and solve. The lesson culminates in an actual sample of very simple code with labels that unpack each instruction…plus a pop quiz to lay out a decision tree for crossing the street, because if “your grown-up can explain it, that shows they understand it!” That goes for kids, too—and though Spiro doesn’t take the logical next step and furnish leads to actual manuals, young (and not so young) fledgling coders will find plenty of good ones around, such as Get Coding! (2017), published by Candlewick, or Rachel Ziter’s Coding From Scratch (2018).
A lighthearted first look at an increasingly useful skill. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2023
ISBN: 9781623543181
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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