Stunning art and clever storytelling come together to deliver a poignant message.
A reflection on access to water as a natural resource in India and the price some people must pay for it.
This picture book for middle-grade readers and above touches upon issues of human migration, gender and economic inequalities, and our relationship with nature, through both the author’s personal account and a fable from the Gond people of India. Framing the narrative as a visit home from the city, Vyam shares vignettes of how people live differently in villages and cities in India and explores their interdependence on natural resources. He traces developments in his home village and their impacts on the lives of its villagers, especially women. He also laments how it is unfair that sometimes villages must pay the price for the increasing demands of the rich people in the city. Threading through all of this is his recollection of the traditional story of seven sisters who bargain with the lake for needed water. Overall, this multilayered story provides many opportunities for discussion on the numerous social and environmental issues we all face. Young readers not of the culture may need explanations of the contexts of both the traditional and the primary stories. The beautiful ink-on-paper illustrations of Gond art magnify the appeal of the book, strikingly depicting aquatic and rural life in bright colors.
Stunning art and clever storytelling come together to deliver a poignant message. (Picture book. 10-adult)Pub Date: April 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-93-83145-61-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Tara Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change.
Testa’s connection to and respect for nature compelled her to begin championing animal causes at the age of 10, and this desire to have an impact later propelled her to dedicate her life to fighting plastic pollution. Starting with the history of plastic and how it’s produced, Testa acknowledges the benefits of plastics for humanity but also the many ways it harms our planet. Instead of relying on recycling—which is both insufficient and ineffective—she urges readers to follow two additional R’s: “refuse” and “raise awareness.” Readers are encouraged to do their part, starting with small things like refusing to use plastic straws and water bottles and eventually working up to using their voices to influence business and policy change. In the process, she highlights other youth advocates working toward the same cause. Short chapters include personal examples, such as observations of plastic pollution in Mauritius, her maternal grandparents’ birthplace. Testa makes her case not only against plastic pollution, but also for the work she’s done, resulting in something of a college-admissions–essay tone. Nevertheless, the first-person accounts paired with science will have an impact on readers. Unfortunately, no sources are cited and the lack of backmatter is a missed opportunity.
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change. (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22333-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
Necessary for every library, personal or otherwise.
As fresh and funny as ever, a classic compendium of physics in action gets a light but needed makeover.
Most of the “Things” here are still working the way they did back in 1988, 1998, and 2004, when the original and the revised editions dropped—but along with sporting new and spruced-up colors, some of the content, notably the section dubbed “The Digital Domain,” has been brought into the 21st century. Thus, the space shuttle and the VCR are no more, the workings of the telephone have been replaced by those of smartphones and telephone networks, and the jump jet has given way to the quadcopter and other types of drones. But the details that made the earlier editions delightful as well as edifying remain. In the illustrations, flights of tiny angels move the “first whoopee cushion” into place, discombobulated woolly mammoths get caught up in silly side business while helping to demonstrate scientific principles, and best of all, Macaulay’s brilliantly designed, engagingly informal diagrams and cutaways bring within the grasp of even casual viewers a greater understanding of the technological wonders of both past and present.
Necessary for every library, personal or otherwise. (index) (Reference. 11-15)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-82438-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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