A pert poultry perspective that offers more than the usual dinosaur lore.
Steve Brusatte, author of the New York Times bestselling adult nonfiction title The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs (2018), collaborates with wife Anne on a children’s book about a chicken brimming with family pride.
A biddy with three chicks, safe on the henhouse roof, boasts to a trio of hungry foxes below that she is descended from powerful reptiles, as if having illustrious ancestors will make her inedible. Nevertheless, the reynards seem quite impressed as she stresses the similarities between the theropods and birds: their two-legged stance, three clawed toes, and feathers. She spotlights other bird species’ various dino ancestors, too. Her confidence turns out to be justified: On the final spread, a flock of very assorted fowls—accompanied by a T. rex—converges to chase off the predators. Sharp rhymes punctuate the science lesson. Laudably, the authors don’t merely stick to the usual dino suspects; they also include more recent paleontological discoveries confirming the connection between birds and theropods. Copious backmatter offers plenty of additional scientific information, including an explanation of the evolution of feathers, though some may wish that pronunciations had been provided. Lorenzi’s brightly colored digital art displays stylized dinos feathered or scaled in purple, teal, lavender, pink, and more, while stippling suggests texture and gives depth to the minimalist backgrounds. The foxes grin evilly, with exaggeratedly pointed snouts, below the calmly complacent chicken narrator.
A pert poultry perspective that offers more than the usual dinosaur lore. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2026
ISBN: 9781464291968
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on.
Sharpson offers so-fish-ticated readers a heads up about the true terror of the seas.
The title says it all. Our unseen narrator is just fine with other animals: mammals. Reptiles. Even birds. But fish? Don’t trust them! First off, the rules always seem to change with fish. Some live in fresh water; some reside in salt water. Some have gills, while others have lungs. You can never see what they’re up to, since they hang out underwater, and they’re always eating those poor, innocent crabs. Soon, the narrator introduces readers to Jeff, a vacant-eyed yellow fish—but don’t be fooled! Jeff’s “the craftiest fish of all.” All fish are, apparently, hellbent on world domination, the narrator warns. “DON’T TRUST FISH!” Finally, at the tail end, we get a sly glimpse of our unreliable narrator. Readers needn’t be ichthyologists to appreciate Sharpson’s meticulous comic timing. (“Ships always sink at sea. They never sink on land. Isn’t that strange?”) His delightful text, filled to the brim with jokes that read aloud brilliantly, pairs perfectly with Santat’s art, which shifts between extreme realism and goofy hilarity. He also fills the book with his own clever gags (such as an image of Gilligan’s Island’s S.S. Minnow going down and a bottle of sauce labeled “Surly Chik’n Srir’racha’r”).
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 8, 2025
ISBN: 9780593616673
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
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