More tools for young naturalists’ outdoor adventures.
Readers can now add animal houses to Butts (2018) and Tracks (2020) as ways to identify the presence of various animals.
With a format similar to that in Tekiela’s three previous works (Whose Track Is That?, 2020, etc.), the book presents readers with a double-page spread featuring some clues, the titular question, and an up-close photo of an animal home. After guessing, children can turn the page to find the answer, some facts, and a couple additional photos of the animal. Some clues are giveaways while others are more difficult: A small, round home the right size for “a mommy and her eggs” is a robin’s nest; and a warm, dry underground home continually occupied for up to six winter months is a black bear’s den. But some pictures may lead readers astray. While Tekiela writes of a home that “looks…like a mound of dirt…[that] also serves as a lookout,” his picture is an overhead view that looks like a hole. And savvy readers may argue with the author’s calling a monarch’s chrysalis and a garden spider’s web “houses.” The other featured North American animals are bald eagle, bald-faced hornet, American beaver, prairie dog, sunfish, cottontail rabbit, and common ant. Pronunciation and definitions are provided in the text. Tekiela’s macro images of the insects are standouts among the intriguing photos.
More tools for young naturalists’ outdoor adventures. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64755-074-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Adventure Publications
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
A lyrical and educational look at the water cycle.
Through many types of weather and the different seasons, water tells readers about its many forms.
“Sometimes I’m the rain cloud / and sometimes I’m the rain.” Water can make rainbows and can appear to be different colors. Water is a waterfall, a wave, an ocean swell, a frozen pond, the snow on your nose, a cloud, frost, a comet, a part of you. Throughout, Paterson’s rhyming verses evoke images of their own: “Soon the summer sun is back / and warms me with its rays. / I rise in rumbling thunderheads / like castles in the haze,” though at times word order seems to have been chosen for rhyme rather than meaning (“In fall I sink into a fog / and blanket chilly fields, / with pumpkins touched by morning frost / the harvest season yields”). Backmatter includes a diagram of the water cycle that introduces and describes each step with solid vocabulary, including “Collection” as a step in the process; “The Science Behind the Poetry,” which unpacks some of the poetic language and phrases; some water activities and explorations; conservation tips; and a list of other books from the publisher about water. Paterson’s full- and double-page–spread illustrations are just as magical as his verse, showing water in its many forms from afar and close up. Few people appear on his pages, but the vast majority of those are people of color.
A lyrical and educational look at the water cycle. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-58469-615-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dawn Publications
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
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