The theme’s worthy, but the informational payload is disappointingly light.
A first, sweeping look at the visible universe and some of what’s in it.
That “some” ranges from galaxies, nebulas, and constellations to space junk. Each element is given a narrative voice (as in: “I am your Solar System, a huge family in space”) to supply introductions and brief descriptions of select parts or features. “Space” has the final word, but instead of directing readers’ attention outward as the rest do, it delivers only a vague and rather deflating platitude: “And you, my young scientist, are very special.” Despite featuring a cast of child astronauts and scientists that includes several with Asian features or dark skin as well as white characters, flattened perspectives and stylized renditions of, for instance, a young dreamer in a fishbowl helmet and the asteroid belt as an unrealistically dense band of gravel give the illustrations a mildly antique, mid–last-century look. Though the International Space Station and the Ariane 5 launch vehicle take narrative turns of their own, overall the focus is less on technology, the future of space exploration, or even measures of specific detail (Mars “has mountains, valleys, and windblown red dust”) than on fostering a general appreciation for the cosmos as “a wondrous place of spinning galaxies, exploding stars, and planets teeming with the unknown.”
The theme’s worthy, but the informational payload is disappointingly light. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: March 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-3-89955-795-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Gestalten
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A winning heads up for younger readers just becoming aware of the wider natural world.
An appeal to share concern for 12 familiar but threatened, endangered, or critically endangered animal species.
The subjects of Marino’s intimate, close-up portraits—fairly naturalistically rendered, though most are also smiling, glancing up at viewers through human eyes, and posed at rest with a cute youngling on lap or flank—steal the show. Still, Clinton’s accompanying tally of facts about each one’s habitat and daily routines, to which the title serves as an ongoing refrain, adds refreshingly unsentimental notes: “A single giraffe kick can kill a lion!”; “[S]hivers of whale sharks can sense a drop of blood if it’s in the water nearby, though they eat mainly plankton.” Along with tucking in collective nouns for each animal (some not likely to be found in major, or any, dictionaries: an “embarrassment” of giant pandas?), the author systematically cites geographical range, endangered status, and assumed reasons for that status, such as pollution, poaching, or environmental change. She also explains the specific meaning of “endangered” and some of its causes before closing with a set of doable activities (all uncontroversial aside from the suggestion to support and visit zoos) and a list of international animal days to celebrate.
A winning heads up for younger readers just becoming aware of the wider natural world. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-51432-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Just the ticket for an armchair outing to the red planet.
Good news! Planet Marvelous is looking forward to visitors from Planet Awesome.
With the same exuberance that propelled readers deep into her Ocean! Waves for All (2020), illustrated by David Litchfield, and its three predecessors in the Our Universe series, McAnulty looks to the next planet out for a fresh set of enticing natural wonders. Billing itself a “party planet” (“I want to be the FIRST planet with human guests”), the russet raconteur trumpets its unique attractions. These range from moons Deimos and Phobos (“I know Earth is totally jealous”) to Olympus Mons and Valles Marineris, which is “four times as deep as the Grand Canyon! And not nearly as crowded.” Sure, unlike Spirit, Opportunity, and other rovers, human visitors will have to pack their own water and oxygen in addition to traveling millions of miles…but given a few technological advances, soon enough it’ll be time to “get this party started!” Prospective tourists diverse of age and race are dancing already on Earth in a final scene in anticipation of a trip to our “reMARkable” neighbor. Quiz questions and a timeline cap an enticement that echoes Susanna Leonard Hill’s Mars’ First Friends: Come on Over, Rovers! (2020), illustrated by Elisa Paganelli, in its fizzy mix of fact and fancy. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 75% of actual size.)
Just the ticket for an armchair outing to the red planet. (sources) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-25688-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
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