Attractive, colorful, and age-appropriate, though not without flaw.
A brown-skinned young girl acts as “bug guide,” inviting readers to search for some bugs with her in this attractive offering by Yoon.
The book showcases a total of eight common insects, from ladybug and butterfly to bumblebee and ant, one on each page in close-up detail, with a green, leafy background. Each insect is printed on a large flap that’s sturdy and easy for a toddler to lift up, and underneath is a colorful illustration of the insect in its natural environment and a rhyming couplet (sometimes clunky but always age-appropriate) giving brief basic facts about it. “Lightning bugs come out at night / and flash their little glowing light”; “Grasshoppers can jump so high! / They also use their wings to fly.” The book supports a common misconception by including the spider, an arachnid, with the rest of the insects, encouraging another generation to believe that spiders are insects: “Spiders creep and sneak and crawl. / They weave their webs, both big and small.” Bright, colorful illustrations show the insects in natural colors and all at the same size, not drawn to scale. Companion book Dinosaur Discovery works on the same format with a young white-skinned girl as “field guide” and features eight common dinosaurs, including Stegosaurus, Triceratops, and Argentinosaurus, again not to scale. Some of the facts may be unverifiable, such as assertions about coloration and vocalization.
Attractive, colorful, and age-appropriate, though not without flaw. (Board book. 18 mos.-4)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4549-2108-0
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: April 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on.
Sharpson offers so-fish-ticated readers a heads up about the true terror of the seas.
The title says it all. Our unseen narrator is just fine with other animals: mammals. Reptiles. Even birds. But fish? Don’t trust them! First off, the rules always seem to change with fish. Some live in fresh water; some reside in salt water. Some have gills, while others have lungs. You can never see what they’re up to, since they hang out underwater, and they’re always eating those poor, innocent crabs. Soon, the narrator introduces readers to Jeff, a vacant-eyed yellow fish—but don’t be fooled! Jeff’s “the craftiest fish of all.” All fish are, apparently, hellbent on world domination, the narrator warns. “DON’T TRUST FISH!” Finally, at the tail end, we get a sly glimpse of our unreliable narrator. Readers needn’t be ichthyologists to appreciate Sharpson’s meticulous comic timing. (“Ships always sink at sea. They never sink on land. Isn’t that strange?”) His delightful text, filled to the brim with jokes that read aloud brilliantly, pairs perfectly with Santat’s art, which shifts between extreme realism and goofy hilarity. He also fills the book with his own clever gags (such as an image of Gilligan’s Island’s S.S. Minnow going down and a bottle of sauce labeled “Surly Chik’n Srir’racha’r”).
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 8, 2025
ISBN: 9780593616673
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
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