Attractive, informative, and beautifully designed.
In this introductory picture book, each of eight different “bugs” is allotted four pages, which include an initial, illustrated question followed by the answer and then additional art and text.
Following the title’s lead, the first question, in large lettering on the verso, is “What kind of bug has a head like this?” An enormous paper collage resembling the head of a rhinoceros spreads across both pages. Upon turning the page, the lettering triumphantly announces, “A rhinoceros beetle!” and gives a few exciting facts about the creature. On this double-page spread, a full-bodied, paper-collage rhinoceros beetle is surrounded by its environment—created from mixed-media, including photographs of stones and underbrush. Equally impressive combinations of art and text follow. The text is clear, and scientific vocabulary includes concise definitions, as in “These wings are part of the ladybug’s exoskeleton, or ‘outside skeleton.’ ” The questions move from head to antennae to eyes to body to wings to hair to legs to tail—with “tail” explained as a trick question. The final double-page spread offers a gallery of seven more “awesome bugs” and a sidebar about further classifications. Every digitally created habitat collage is a worthy match to the carefully worded text. The round, wide-pupiled eyes of the bugs make them all—even the tarantula—appear benign and endearing. Even the aquamarine endpapers abound with friendly bug images.
Attractive, informative, and beautifully designed. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-77138-729-3
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An unusual and appealing addition to the sense-of-wonder shelf.
Under a Yellowstone landscape populated by interesting animals lies a sleeping giant, a great volcano.
This book makes a clever connection between the geology and the wildlife of America’s first national park. A gentle text and scenic illustrations depict various animals’ activities throughout the day. Then, attention turns to what’s happening underground, the processes that result in the bubbling mud pots, hissing steam vents, and roaring geysers. Fox describes a time when the volcano erupted, noting the lasting effects in the rocks and plant cover, and, finally, the narrative returns to the animals, now ready for sleep. The metaphor is accessible even to young listeners, and the effect is soothing rather than frightening. The text and translucent frames for the animal scenes are set directly on double-page illustrations done with pencil, watercolor collage, and digital oil paints. These realistic images show the large animals described in the text—wolf, moose, bear, elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, mountain lion, coyote—and smaller ones that can be found by the curious child and easily identified by a knowledgeable adult reader. A helpful map on the title page shows the outlines of the caldera within the park; the backmatter includes a glossary of volcano-related words and more about this long-dormant “supervolcano.” The author’s first picture book reflects her own appreciation for this national treasure, which could inspire family visits.
An unusual and appealing addition to the sense-of-wonder shelf. (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-9883303-8-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Web of Life
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
Another attractive nature book for settings where previous titles have been popular.
A pod of hungry orcas seeking a seal or sea lion see many other creatures in the Great Bear Sea in British Columbia—but not lunch.
This is the fourth in a series of strikingly illustrated titles in a series about the Great Bear Rainforest that features the work of resident photographer McAllister. In a way, it echoes part of the story of its most recent predecessor, The Seal Garden (2018), again documenting the relationship between predator and prey. The pictures are the main attraction. These eye-catching images, in varying sizes from double-page spreads to vignettes, are mostly appropriate to the text, which includes informational nuggets about the animals shown: seals and sea lions, of course, plus grizzly and black bears, a wolf, a fin whale, a shark, a dolphin, some salmon and smaller fish, eagles, puffins, an octopus, sea stars, and more. (Curiously, a pair of shorebirds feeding in one splendid full-page picture isn’t identified.) Telling his story from the orca’s perspective, Read imagines some human thoughts: “The orca is getting frustrated. Where are the seals and sea lions? How will she and her pod fill their bellies if they don’t find something to eat? She decides to look above the water again.” This is consistent with the anthropomorphic tone of the series, which is designed for quite young readers and listeners.
Another attractive nature book for settings where previous titles have been popular. (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1273-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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