Readers (and Marjory) deserve better.
A visually rich look at the life of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, a champion of the Everglades.
Vivid and lush, done in acrylic ink and colored pencil, the illustrations immediately greet readers with skies full of birds and flowers that create a horticultural rainbow. Alas, the bold, folk-style illustrations that provide so much visual interest cannot save a problematic text about a noteworthy woman. Vague, suggestive lines pepper the narrative, leading to more questions than answers: “…it would be a long time before Marjory felt the southern sunlight again. Or her father’s warm hug.” With no mention of a family separation to help them along, readers will be puzzled. “Finally, she found her voice. It wasn’t her father’s voice, her mother’s voice, or Aunt Fanny’s. It was entirely the voice of Marjory Stoneman Douglas.” Readers will wonder, did any of those people try to silence her? Her father (now back in the story) gave her the reporting job where she found that voice and used it to advocate for women’s suffrage. Marjory “became an activist” in her later years. But what was all of her advocacy prior to that? The fatal flaw of the text, however, lies in its promotion of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, a white woman, as leader of the charge to save the Everglades, reducing the work of the Miccosukee and Seminole tribes (and countless others) to a sentence in the author’s note. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Readers (and Marjory) deserve better. (timeline, environmental tips, sources, additional resources) (Picture book/biography. 6-10)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3154-6
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2020
Sweet as honey.
Learn about the importance of keystone species in this buzzworthy book.
Honeybees are an important species—but how many people know just how important? Readers will after reading this bee-dazzling book that explains their essential role in the food chain. Three beekeepers (a White adult and two children, one Black and one White) are inspecting their beehives and discover a potential case of colony collapse disorder, a relatively new phenomenon in which an entire colony of bees dies off quickly. The book then delves into the logical events that would follow if all honeybee colonies collapsed, showing how many species—plant and animal, including humans—would be adversely affected. Each double-page spread presents one or two small paragraphs explaining the links in the chain of consequences in moderately simple language. The text is supported by lush cartoon illustrations that will pull in readers with each new page. The book ends with a brief glossary, suggestions for starting honeybee-related conversations at home and with friends, and a full-page bibliography for readers who have been stung with curiosity. It’s a fun and engaging read for nonfiction fans and will also pull double duty during science project festivals, as the resources and information will be invaluable for projects on ecology, animal husbandry, or food webs. An added bonus for beekeepers is that all three humans are observing sensible beekeeping practices as they work. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.5-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Sweet as honey. (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-23245-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
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PERSPECTIVES
A solid addition to the climate-change canon for those interested in saving a fragile world.
Dire consequences attend the unchecked melting of Arctic sea ice.
The more the ice melts, the more the Arctic climate changes. The more that air and ground temperatures rise, the more the frozen ecosystem’s inhabitants, including plants and insects, suffer from dwindling habitats; threats to food sources; and imbalances in feeding, breeding, and migration patterns. Solid information is packed into this brief work that lucidly raises the alarm for young readers, with each spread capturing the thrilling, chilling north in rich, dramatic blue swathes of seawater set off by icy glaciers and snowdrifts. Child-friendly, occasionally cluttered paintings, some with labels, highlight polar bears and their Arctic neighbors; a spread of vignettes illustrates how changes to plant life affect wildlife. One labeled spread explains all: As seawater warms, it absorbs sunlight, thus heating more water and melting more ice. One poignant spread depicts a bewildered polar bear mom, eyeing readers and flanked by her twin cubs, drifting on a shrinking ice floe. Two human children, one brown-skinned and one pale, occasionally appear in the illustrations as well. The book ends on a hopeful note, reassuring youngsters that “we still have time to save polar bears and slow the loss of Arctic ice.” A note in the backmatter offers conservation tips.
A solid addition to the climate-change canon for those interested in saving a fragile world. (author’s note, bibliography, additional sources) (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-14319-8
Page Count: 42
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2018
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