by Scott Riley ; illustrated by Nguyen Quang & Kim Lien ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 2, 2021
An intriguing true story elevated by striking illustrations.
Enamored by sport, a group of Thai boys literally make a field of their own.
In Thailand in 1986, a young boy named Prasit lives in a village called Koh Panyee, built on stilts on the shore. As his father leaves on his boat with dreams of his daily catch, Prasit and the other neighborhood boys look elsewhere. Their eyes are on the village’s only TV, at Uncle’s coffee shop, broadcasting the World Cup. Their excitement spills over to a sandbar where they struggle to play in the sand. The straightforward text goes on at a steady pace to reveal how the boys build their own floating soccer field with ample ingenuity and resourcefulness. At first the community is skeptical of the boys’ goals, but they eventually cheer as the boys leave for a tournament. Illustrators Quang and Lien use vivid colors and contrast to bring plenty of depth and movement to every scene. At times the narration can be a touch flat, especially at the climax, where the boys kick off their shoes in their formal match to play in the rain, a moment rendered with little emotion. In the backmatter, the real Prasit provides insights on the actual events along with a detailed author’s note and a glossary. The village is largely Muslim, as shown by characters’ attire.
An intriguing true story elevated by striking illustrations. (maps, bibliography, reading guide) (Informational picture book. 7-11)Pub Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5415-7915-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
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by Joanna Rzezak ; illustrated by Joanna Rzezak ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 18, 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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by Joanna Rzezak ; illustrated by Joanna Rzezak
BOOK REVIEW
by Joanna Rzezak ; illustrated by Joanna Rzezak
by Mike Lowery ; illustrated by Mike Lowery ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 7, 2021
A quick flight but a blast from first to last.
A charged-up roundup of astro-facts.
Having previously explored everything awesome about both dinosaurs (2019) and sharks (2020), Lowery now heads out along a well-traveled route, taking readers from the Big Bang through a planet-by-planet tour of the solar system and then through a selection of space-exploration highlights. The survey isn’t unique, but Lowery does pour on the gosh-wow by filling each hand-lettered, poster-style spread with emphatic colors and graphics. He also goes for the awesome in his selection of facts—so that readers get nothing about Newton’s laws of motion, for instance, but will come away knowing that just 65 years separate the Wright brothers’ flight and the first moon landing. They’ll also learn that space is silent but smells like burned steak (according to astronaut Chris Hadfield), that thanks to microgravity no one snores on the International Space Station, and that Buzz Aldrin was the first man on the moon…to use the bathroom. And, along with a set of forgettable space jokes (OK, one: “Why did the carnivore eat the shooting star?” “Because it was meteor”), the backmatter features drawing instructions for budding space artists and a short but choice reading list. Nods to Katherine Johnson and NASA’s other African American “computers” as well as astronomer Vera Rubin give women a solid presence in the otherwise male and largely White cast of humans. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A quick flight but a blast from first to last. (Informational picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-35974-9
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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by Laura Murray ; illustrated by Mike Lowery
BOOK REVIEW
by Laura Murray ; illustrated by Mike Lowery
BOOK REVIEW
by Mike Lowery ; illustrated by Mike Lowery
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