Butterfly fans will flutter happily about this tale of a child joining the annual nationwide butterfly census in hopes of spotting a once-common, now-rare regal fritillary. Identification guide in hand, Amy floats through the fields of wildflowers and high grasses that used to be her great-great-grandmother Nora Belle’s farm, and is now run by a prairie reclamation project. She sees mourning cloaks and monarchs, painted ladies, red admirals, and black swallowtails—but not the fritillary that was Nora Belle’s favorite. To Amy’s evocative roll call, Kratter (A World Above the Clouds, not reviewed, etc.) adds naturalistic watercolor portraits, both in leafy natural settings and in a final section of captioned close-ups. Collard (A Firefly Biologist at Work, not reviewed, etc.) brings Amy’s quest to a satisfying end in the old family plot where Nora Belle is buried—one of the few patches of prairie that has never been plowed. He adds more about the yearly Fourth of July Butterfly Count at the end, along with safety-conscious advice for young naturalists interested in attracting and observing these flighty wonders. (Picture book. 7-10)
Pub Date: March 15, 2002
ISBN: 0-8234-1607-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2002
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Varieties, life cycle, pack and hunting behavior, and the current status of this endangered predator—although with what may seem too many transparently rhetorical questions (``Are wolves savage and destructive hunters of people and livestock?'') and fillers (``After wolves kill a large animal, they may rest for a brief time or eat right away''). Without attribution, Simon states that ``...there is no record of a healthy wolf ever trying to kill a human in North America.'' In Gray Wolf, Red Wolf (1990, for slightly older readers), Patent is more precise: ``there is no record of a healthy wild wolf attacking a human.'' Patent also does a better job of stating the case for and against reintroducing wolves in national parks. Still, though his text isn't up to his usual high standard, Simon again selects outstanding photos—this book's strongest and most appealing feature. (Nonfiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 30, 1993
ISBN: 0-06-022531-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1993
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