An illuminating journey through the moons of our solar system, presenting goals for future space exploration.
Just as our moon became more than a rock once humans landed on it, other moons have emerged as worlds of their own in data from probes like Voyager.
Full-color illustrations, photographs, and helpful diagrams tell their stories and emphasize their importance. Europa, Enceladus, and Titan—moons of Jupiter and Saturn—might even host life. Readers need a solid understanding of how gravity works, especially beyond Earth. Though the book’s purpose is (rightfully) not to teach orbital mechanics, it does an impressive job of offering plain-language explanations of scientific concepts, particularly Newton’s laws and methods for finding exomoons. Comparisons to the size of the moon in the Earth’s sky make it easy to picture what other moons must look like from other planets. Galileo and Newton receive top billing, and most other scientists mentioned are male and either European or American; one European and two American female scientists appear. Historical discussions of astronomy mention ancient Greeks and Romans but omit ancient Islamic or other non-Western astronomers, instead describing ancient Asian and Indigenous peoples in the context of sun and moon deities and folklore. References to past and future missions like Cassini-Huygens and the Enceladus Explorer connect facts to the scientific methods used to discover them and present exciting goals for future space exploration.
An illuminating journey through the moons of our solar system, presenting goals for future space exploration. (glossary, source notes, selected bibliography, further information, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: April 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-72841-943-5
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Twenty-First Century/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today.
A beautifully heart-wrenching graphic-novel adaptation of actor and activist Takei’s (Lions and Tigers and Bears, 2013, etc.) childhood experience of incarceration in a World War II camp for Japanese Americans.
Takei had not yet started school when he, his parents, and his younger siblings were forced to leave their home and report to the Santa Anita Racetrack for “processing and removal” due to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066. The creators smoothly and cleverly embed the historical context within which Takei’s family’s story takes place, allowing readers to simultaneously experience the daily humiliations that they suffered in the camps while providing readers with a broader understanding of the federal legislation, lawsuits, and actions which led to and maintained this injustice. The heroes who fought against this and provided support to and within the Japanese American community, such as Fred Korematsu, the 442nd Regiment, Herbert Nicholson, and the ACLU’s Wayne Collins, are also highlighted, but the focus always remains on the many sacrifices that Takei’s parents made to ensure the safety and survival of their family while shielding their children from knowing the depths of the hatred they faced and danger they were in. The creators also highlight the dangerous parallels between the hate speech, stereotyping, and legislation used against Japanese Americans and the trajectory of current events. Delicate grayscale illustrations effectively convey the intense emotions and the stark living conditions.
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today. (Graphic memoir. 14-adult)Pub Date: July 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-60309-450-4
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Top Shelf Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Like many grammar books, this starts with parts of speech and goes on to sentence structure, punctuation, usage and style....
As she does in previous volumes—Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing (2008) and The Grammar Devotional (2009)—Fogarty affects an earnest and upbeat tone to dissuade those who think a grammar book has to be “annoying, boring, and confusing” and takes on the role of “grammar guide, intent on demystifying grammar.”
Like many grammar books, this starts with parts of speech and goes on to sentence structure, punctuation, usage and style. Fogarty works hard to find amusing, even cheeky examples to illustrate the many faux pas she discusses: "Squiggly presumed that Grammar Girl would flinch when she saw the word misspelled as alot." Young readers may well look beyond the cheery tone and friendly cover, though, and find a 300+-page text that looks suspiciously schoolish and isn't really that different from the grammar texts they have known for years (and from which they have still not learned a lot of grammar). As William Strunk said in his introduction to the first edition of the little The Elements of Style, the most useful grammar guide concentrates attention “on a few essentials, the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated.” After that, “Students profit most by individual instruction based on the problems of their own work.” By being exhaustive, Fogarty may well have created just the kind of volume she hoped to avoid.Pub Date: July 5, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8943-1
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2011
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