It's amazing how many major, and not-so-major, scientific discoveries were made by accident: penicillin, silly putty, photography, gravity, and many more. Royston Roberts (Serendipity, not reviewed) and daughter Jeanie describe a number of these accidents and provide many simple but enlightening experiments to demonstrate the various principles that arise. Kids in the recommended 10-15 age group, however, might resent instructions that seem to baby them, as when they're told to have an adult fry eggs for them to demonstrate the properties of Teflon. Still, the wealth of interesting and clearly explained information more than compensates for slights the young scientist might feel in the experiment sections. Aside from a fun and informative read, the Robertses stress that accidents like these only lead to scientific breakthroughs if one knows how to interpret them; or, as Louis Pasteur put it, ``chance favors the prepared mind.'' Young scientists are encouraged to think for themselves, to analyze and interpret, so that when serendipitous events occur they know how to make the most of them. (Glossary) (Nonfiction. 10-15)
Pub Date: Nov. 4, 1994
ISBN: 0-471-00954-7
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Wiley
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1994
Remarking that ``nothing about the weather is very simple,'' Simon goes on to describe how the sun, atmosphere, earth's rotation, ground cover, altitude, pollution, and other factors influence it; briefly, he also tells how weather balloons gather information. Even for this outstanding author, it's a tough, complex topic, and he's not entirely successful in simplifying it; moreover, the import of the striking uncaptioned color photos here isn't always clear. One passage—``Cumulus clouds sometimes build up into towering masses called cumulus congestus, or swelling cumulus, which may turn into cumulonimbus clouds''—is superimposed on a blue-gray, cloud-covered landscape. But which kind of clouds are these? Another photo, in blue-black and white, shows what might be precipitation in the upper atmosphere, or rain falling on a darkened landscape, or...? Generally competent and certainly attractive, but not Simon's best. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-688-10546-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1993
A beautiful conservation story told in a rich setting and peopled with memorable characters.
Unlike the rest of her nature-obsessed family, Louisa wants to be a musician, not a biologist.
But when Louisa’s mother finds out that the Australian government is about to destroy the Tasmanian rainforest camp their family has managed for decades, she insists that Louisa leave Toronto and spend the summer on the strange, small island with her even stranger uncle Ruff. But when Uncle Ruff gives Louisa a copy of her great-grandmother’s journal, Louisa becomes fascinated with her family’s history of secretly protecting endangered species, including the mysterious Tasmanian tiger, widely regarded as extinct. With the help of her new friend and neighbor Colin—a boy who has autism spectrum disorder—Louisa deepens her connection with her family’s land, with history, and with her love of music. Kadarusman masterfully creates a lush, magical world where issues associated with conservation, neurodiversity, and history intersect in surprising and authentic ways. The book’s small cast of characters (principals seem all White) is well drawn and endearing. Crucially, the author acknowledges the original, Indigenous inhabitants of the land as experts, something rarely seen in books about environmental degradation. Louisa’s narratorial voice strikes the right balance of curiosity, timidity, and growing confidence, and her character’s transformation feels both incredibly natural and incredibly rewarding to behold.
A beautiful conservation story told in a rich setting and peopled with memorable characters. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: April 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-77278-054-3
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Pajama Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
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