An eloquent, richly illustrated cry for attention to a pressing ecological issue.
A sense of urgency infuses this account of hatchling salmon swimming downstream and encountering a deadly new threat to their survival when they reach the sea.
Writing in rhyming text and enlarging on each verse in matching blocks of prose, Poll (Métis) chronicles salmon’s reproductive cycle as they hatch, go through stages of growth from alevin to smolt, then set off downstream to an estuary. Here they come across natural predators as well as open-net pen fish farms overcrowded with captive fish that fill the surrounding waters with waste, parasitic sea lice, and disease microbes. The consequent decline in wild salmon populations affects both ocean and upstream ecosystems, as the fish are a keystone species whose post-egg-laying deaths benefit over 135 species of flora and fauna. Trainor-Mattis, an Indigenous artist, incorporates Northwest Coastal designs into her depictions of salmon and other wildlife, with solid-black human figures in traditional dress looking on in the backgrounds from riverbanks and boats. Emotion infuses both text and visuals—the anguished faces of salmon trapped in nets are especially moving. The backmatter features no concrete suggestions for remediating the farming problem but does include a note from Lakál’t (a knowledge keeper from the Lil’wat Nation) and salmon-related glossaries in English and three Indigenous languages.
An eloquent, richly illustrated cry for attention to a pressing ecological issue. (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: March 10, 2026
ISBN: 9781771476461
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
Another playful imagination-stretcher.
Markle invites children to picture themselves living in the homes of 11 wild animals.
As in previous entries in the series, McWilliam’s illustrations of a diverse cast of young people fancifully imitating wild creatures are paired with close-up photos of each animal in a like natural setting. The left side of one spread includes a photo of a black bear nestling in a cozy winter den, while the right side features an image of a human one cuddled up with a bear. On another spread, opposite a photo of honeybees tending to newly hatched offspring, a human “larva” lounges at ease in a honeycomb cell, game controller in hand, as insect attendants dish up goodies. A child with an eye patch reclines on an orb weaver spider’s web, while another wearing a head scarf constructs a castle in a subterranean chamber with help from mound-building termites. Markle adds simple remarks about each type of den, nest, or burrow and basic facts about its typical residents, then closes with a reassuring reminder to readers that they don’t have to live as animals do, because they will “always live where people live.” A select gallery of traditional homes, from igloo and yurt to mudhif, follows a final view of the young cast waving from a variety of differently styled windows.
Another playful imagination-stretcher. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781339049052
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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
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