The creators of Beaks! (2002) nose out more wonders of nature with a visit to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. With Brickman’s teeming marine scenes for visuals, done in intricately shaped and painted paper collage, Collard introduces a sampling of the vast array of tropical fish and other reef-dwelling fauna. Then in an awed tone, he describes the recently discovered and still unexplained mass spawning in which, on certain spring nights beneath a full moon, more than a hundred different species of corals simultaneously release vast clouds of sperm and trillions of egg packets. He goes on to trace the development of a single coral polyp from fertilization to a large colony ready for the next spawning. Readers will come away intrigued by the phenomenon and eager to check out the multimedia resources on the appended list. This stands out from the school of other reef tours on library shelves, both for its special focus and for its riveting illustrations. (index, glossary) (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: July 1, 2005
ISBN: 1-57091-389-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2005
Categories: CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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Flaps and pull-tabs in assorted astro-scenes reveal several wonders of the universe as well as inside glimpses of observatories, rockets, a space suit, and the International Space Station.
Interactive features include a spinnable Milky Way, pop-up launches of Ariane and Soyuz rockets, a solar-system tour, visits to the surfaces of the moon and Mars, and cutaway views beneath long, thin flaps of an international array of launch vehicles. Despite these bells and whistles, this import is far from ready for liftoff. Not only has Antarctica somehow gone missing from the pop-up globe, but Baumann’s commentary (at least in Booker’s translation from the French original) shows more enthusiasm than strict attention to accuracy. Both Mercury and Venus are designated “hottest planet” (right answer: Venus); claims that there is no gravity in space and that black holes are a type of star are at best simplistic; and “we do not know what [other galaxies] actually look like” is nonsensical. Moreover, in a clumsy attempt to diversify the cast on a spread about astronaut training, Latyk gives an (evidently) Asian figure caricatured slit eyes and yellow skin.
A launch-pad fizzle. (Informational pop-up picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2016
ISBN: 979-1-02760-197-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The Pumpkin Book (32 pp.; $16.95; Sept. 15; 0-8234-1465-5): From seed to vine and blossom to table, Gibbons traces the growth cycle of everyone’s favorite autumn symbol—the pumpkin. Meticulous drawings detail the transformation of tiny seeds to the colorful gourds that appear at roadside stands and stores in the fall. Directions for planting a pumpkin patch, carving a jack-o’-lantern, and drying the seeds give young gardeners the instructions they need to grow and enjoy their own golden globes. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 1999
ISBN: 0-8234-1465-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
Categories: CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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