Earnest, informative, and notably rich in visual appeal.
Young readers are invited to take closer looks at still water ecosystems.
The authors begin by acknowledging that while most people love “babbling brooks and rushing rivers,” they often view still water as “unsafe, unhealthy, and unhelpful.” Announcing a call to “respect and value” the distinctive types and residents of these wetlands, the authors start by exploring puddles on pavement and in trees (the latter formally known as “phytotelma”). They then thoughtfully explain how these and other wetlands (from peat bogs to both natural and artificial ponds) form and profile typical flora and fauna adapted to each habitat—with particular attention to invasive species and other environmental threats. In her standout illustrations, Gottardi intersperses serene, wordless, full-page views of bodies of water worth lingering over with captioned galleries of finely detailed aquatic life, from tiny rotifers to graceful cattails, brightly patterned newts, and birds with every feather visible. Summary pages touting the essential roles wetlands play in storing atmospheric carbon and filtering pollutants lead to a closing nod to the book’s original Italian edition—a glimpse of Loppio Lake in northerly Trentino, a marshy mix of trees and open water that supports “an extraordinary variety of animal and plant species.”
Earnest, informative, and notably rich in visual appeal. (URL linking to source list, glossary) (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2026
ISBN: 9780802856593
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe.
An introduction to gravity.
The book opens with the most iconic demonstration of gravity, an apple falling. Throughout, Herz tackles both huge concepts—how gravity compresses atoms to form stars and how black holes pull all kinds of matter toward them—and more concrete ones: how gravity allows you to jump up and then come back down to the ground. Gravity narrates in spare yet lyrical verse, explaining how it creates planets and compresses atoms and comparing itself to a hug. “My embrace is tight enough that you don’t float like a balloon, but loose enough that you can run and leap and play.” Gravity personifies itself at times: “I am stubborn—the bigger things are, the harder I pull.” Beautiful illustrations depict swirling planets and black holes alongside racially diverse children playing, running, and jumping, all thanks to gravity. Thorough backmatter discusses how Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity and explains Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. While at times Herz’s explanations may be a bit too technical for some readers, burgeoning scientists will be drawn in.
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe. (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: April 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668936849
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tilbury House
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
A lighthearted first look at an increasingly useful skill.
Grown-ups may not be the only audience for this simple explanation of how algorithms work.
Taking a confused-looking hipster parent firmly in hand, a child first points to all the computers around the house (“Pro Tip: When dealing with grown-ups, don’t jump into the complicated stuff too fast. Start with something they already know”). Next, the child leads the adult outside to make and follow step-by-step directions for getting to the park, deciding which playground equipment to use, and finally walking home. Along the way, concepts like conditionals and variables come into play in street maps and diagrams, and a literal bug stands in for the sort that programmers will inevitably need to find and solve. The lesson culminates in an actual sample of very simple code with labels that unpack each instruction…plus a pop quiz to lay out a decision tree for crossing the street, because if “your grown-up can explain it, that shows they understand it!” That goes for kids, too—and though Spiro doesn’t take the logical next step and furnish leads to actual manuals, young (and not so young) fledgling coders will find plenty of good ones around, such as Get Coding! (2017), published by Candlewick, or Rachel Ziter’s Coding From Scratch (2018).
A lighthearted first look at an increasingly useful skill. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2023
ISBN: 9781623543181
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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