A recycled storyline without enough twists to feel new.
A young Earth-Bot wakes up to ocean plastic pollution.
Neo and his grandfather, both Earth-Bots, live at the ocean’s edge. Both have round, cartoon faces and matter-of-factly wear spacesuit helmets throughout. Grandpa instructs Neo to clean his plastic-infested room, but Neo fixates on video games. After Grandpa heads out for the day, Neo’s blissful gaming session is repeatedly interrupted. First a seal and later a penguin and a turtle implore Neo to help clean up the plastic pollution in the neighboring ocean. Neo initially insists he is too busy protecting the planet within his video game, but eventually he helps the animals. Spare illustrations are placed on blue or white backgrounds, with thin black outlines around characters and objects. A neat grid of plastic bottles outlined in white overlays ocean scenes, demonstrating the problem’s scale. However, the illustrations’ minimalism works against the story’s overall effectiveness; when Neo is confronted by the ocean’s mess, his facial expression doesn’t noticeably signal alarm. Neo’s video game strategies come in handy when he assesses that the plastic-pollution issue cannot be solved by one person alone, a detail that saves the story from a video games–are-negative binary but not from a sense that it’s basically treading water. A concluding note promotes personal actions with an emphasis on reducing initial plastics consumption instead of leaning on recycling as a single solution. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A recycled storyline without enough twists to feel new. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5253-0538-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor
Having surveyed worms, spiders, flies, and head lice, Gravel continues her Disgusting Critters series with a quick hop through toad fact and fancy.
The facts are briefly presented in a hand-lettered–style typeface frequently interrupted by visually emphatic interjections (“TOXIN,” “PREY,” “EWWW!”). These are, as usual, paired to simply drawn cartoons with comments and punch lines in dialogue balloons. After casting glances at the common South American ancestor of frogs and toads, and at such exotic species as the Emei mustache toad (“Hey ladies!”), Gravel focuses on the common toad, Bufo bufo. Using feminine pronouns throughout, she describes diet and egg-laying, defense mechanisms, “warts,” development from tadpole to adult, and of course how toads shed and eat their skins. Noting that global warming and habitat destruction have rendered some species endangered or extinct, she closes with a plea and, harking back to those South American origins, an image of an outsized toad, arm in arm with a dark-skinned lad (in a track suit), waving goodbye: “Hasta la vista!”
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor . (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77049-667-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle...
Making things is difficult work. Readers will recognize the stages of this young heroine’s experience as she struggles to realize her vision.
First comes anticipation. The artist/engineer is spotted jauntily pulling a wagonload of junkyard treasures. Accompanied by her trusty canine companion, she begins drawing plans and building an assemblage. The narration has a breezy tone: “[S]he makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!” The colorful caricatures and creations contrast with the digital black outlines on a white background that depict an urban neighborhood. Intermittent blue-gray panels break up the white expanses on selected pages showing sequential actions. When the first piece doesn’t turn out as desired, the protagonist tries again, hoping to achieve magnificence. A model of persistence, she tries many adjustments; the vocabulary alone offers constructive behaviors: she “tinkers,” “wrenches,” “fiddles,” “examines,” “stares” and “tweaks.” Such hard work, however, combines with disappointing results, eventually leading to frustration, anger and injury. Explosive emotions are followed by defeat, portrayed with a small font and scaled-down figures. When the dog, whose expressions have humorously mirrored his owner’s through each phase, retrieves his leash, the resulting stroll serves them well. A fresh perspective brings renewed enthusiasm and—spoiler alert—a most magnificent scooter sidecar for a loyal assistant.
Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle characterization for maximum delight. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-55453-704-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2014
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