A thought-provoking blend of fantasy and unusual imagery and an urgent call to environmental action.
In this illustrated children’s story, animals seek safer habitats in reaction to climate change.
This book takes a frankly sobering approach to the topic of climate change. In it, various species of animals travel over land and sea to find refuge from their disappearing habitats. Broken ice sheets convey Antarctic penguins to a woodsy town on the south coast of Australia; polar bears end up in the Mongolian desert; elephants sail from the Serengeti to Hawaii on a boat of branches; koalas hitch a ride with the elephants and find a prickly home among Arizona’s Joshua trees. Sea lions head inland to live under the oaks at California’s Descanso Garden, relying on “the sympathy of strangers to serve them seafood.” Cows become seaweed-munching beach dwellers, and an orangutan clings to a palm tree rooted in a patch of ice in the Bering Sea. The author, a landscape architect, photographer, and designer of “nature-based play and learning environments for children,” weaves the story of each animal species’ plight into a fantastical narrative grounded in real environmental threats—rising sea levels, melting ice, droughts, floods, fires. Each story sums up what the displaced animals miss about their homes, and each ends with the slightly awkward refrain: “but it’s sad to say” their habitats “may not be there anymore anyway.” The surreal effect of the author’s illustrations—photographic images of real animals incorporated within varied landscapes—makes the stories even more unnerving. The scenarios include the possibility of humans retreating underground to escape rising temperatures, but thankfully, the author doesn’t end on that apocalyptic note. Instead, the realization that the planet is in peril galvanizes billions of people to work together to heal the Earth. The author smartly grounds the fantasy in clear, comprehensive backmatter, which includes a list of story-related questions for children, further information for adults, websites and additional reading material for all ages, and ways to fight climate change.
A thought-provoking blend of fantasy and unusual imagery and an urgent call to environmental action.Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73-592197-6
Page Count: 50
Publisher: Swire Siegel
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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