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
An inventive, memorable must-read.
An unlikely hero embarks on a quest to find her missing sisters.
In Tagalong’s world, youngers under 15 are not allowed Outside their homes to avoid being swept away by snow squalls. The Powers-That-Be preserve the status quo while outlawing books and fairy tales as dangerous. Seven years ago, Tag’s three sisters—Lily, Rose, and Iris—vanished in a squall. Tag, now 13, has never been Outside until the day she receives an invitation to a meeting. Discovering a book of fairy tales hidden in an attic wardrobe, Tag takes it with her as she escapes Outside to meet Finn, the boy who invited her, and three younger boys. They’re poised to journey into the Unknown to find their windswept siblings. Not sure she really belongs with them, Tag nevertheless joins along and, after Finn vanishes, distracts and inspires them with remarkable stories from her book. Aided by three spellcasting sisters, various magical objects, and some trickery, Tag emerges as a determined and creative hero as she confronts treacherous danger alone in a dramatic climax. Inspired primarily by the Norwegian fairy tale “The Three Princesses in the Mountain Blue,” this edgy, somewhat dystopian tale set in a world where race holds no significance masterfully blends European fairy-tale motifs with timely warnings about human greed, waste, and destructiveness while extoling the power of storytelling. Richly descriptive prose and delicate, atmospheric black-and-white illustrations enhance the fairy-tale flavor.
An inventive, memorable must-read. (map, author’s note, list of fairy tales, bibliography) (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4197-5824-9
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
paper 0-7894-4760-6 This entry in the Eyewitness Readers series offers children the insight that the trees that surround them are among the tallest, heaviest, and oldest living things on Earth. Keeping the language simple and flowing, Chevallier explains the difference between deciduous trees and conifers, the parts of a tree, and how trees grow. The author also shows how trees provide habitats for other creatures, and explains in easy terms their life cycles. Full-color photographs help readers visualize concepts—a tree’s canopy, its root system—that might not always be obvious, or visible. The book is geared toward beginning readers who are just learning to read alone, and will certainly help them see both the forest and the trees. (Nonfiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-7894-4761-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1999
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