A fascinating and (mostly) well-formatted exploration.
This picture book asks readers to imagine having the eyes of various different animals.
“What kind of animal would you be if you had eight eyes?” Turn the page to find out: a jumping spider. What if you had six eyes, each at the end of an arm instead of a hand? What if you had rectangular pupils? Brown-skinned children, one wearing hijab, are pictured modeling the imagined eye structures, interacting with animals and insects, and learning from books and charts. The pattern of asking a question and answering it on the next page works to keep readers engaged, guessing, and turning pages. The pictures of children with extra eyes, moving eyes, antennae, and animalistic pupils are intriguingly bizarre to look at and will likely keep curious children coming back to this book for stares and giggles. The text is fairly lengthy for a picture book and offers profound scientific information; though it is easy to understand, the spidery, thin, cursivelike type that conveys it is a little daunting for youngsters. Unanswered questions are included in the text, showing that science is an ongoing investigation. The backmatter includes simple activities, more about pupils, a glossary, and further reading. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18.5-inch double-page spreads viewed at 29.5% of actual size.)
A fascinating and (mostly) well-formatted exploration. (Informational picture book. 4-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5415-3838-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
Erupt into applause for this picture book of the first magma-tude.
A deceptively simple, visually appealing, comprehensive explanation of volcanoes.
Gibbons packs an impressive number of facts into this browsable nonfiction picture book. The text begins with the awe of a volcanic eruption: “The ground begins to rumble…ash, hot lava and rock, and gases shoot up into the air.” Diagrams of the Earth’s structural layers—inner and outer core, mantle, and crust—undergird a discussion about why volcanoes occur. Simple maps of the Earth’s seven major tectonic plates show where volcanoes are likeliest to develop. Other spreads with bright, clearly labeled illustrations cover intriguing subtopics: four types of volcanoes and how they erupt; underwater volcanoes; well-known volcanoes and historic volcanic eruptions around the world; how to be safe in the vicinity of a volcano; and the work of scientists studying volcanoes and helping to predict eruptions. A page of eight facts about volcanoes wraps things up. The straightforward, concise prose will be easy for young readers to follow. As always, Gibbons manages to present a great deal of information in a compact form.
Erupt into applause for this picture book of the first magma-tude. (Nonfiction picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4569-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.
This book is buzzing with trivia.
Follow a swarm of bees as they leave a beekeeper’s apiary in search of a new home. As the scout bees traverse the fields, readers are provided with a potpourri of facts and statements about bees. The information is scattered—much like the scout bees—and as a result, both the nominal plot and informational content are tissue-thin. There are some interesting facts throughout the book, but many pieces of trivia are too, well trivial, to prove useful. For example, as the bees travel, readers learn that “onion flowers are round and fluffy” and “fennel is a plant that is used in cooking.” Other facts are oversimplified and as a result are not accurate. For example, monofloral honey is defined as “made by bees who visit just one kind of flower” with no acknowledgment of the fact that bees may range widely, and swarm activity is described as a springtime event, when it can also occur in summer and early fall. The information in the book, such as species identification and measurement units, is directed toward British readers. The flat, thin-lined artwork does little to enhance the story, but an “I spy” game challenging readers to find a specific bee throughout is amusing.
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere. (Informational picture book. 8-10)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-500-65265-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
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