An unusual approach to the creepiest of crawlies, likely to snare unwary passers-by in droves.
For their latest memorable venture into microscopic worlds, two veteran collaborators bring children face to face with the original “web masters” (Bug Shots, 2011, etc.).
“To know a spider you must first look into its eyes.” Along with being a proposition as riveting as it is uninviting for most readers, Siy’s observation is literally true, as the arrangement of their multiple eyes is often a key to spider identification. Expanding on her taxonomic topic, the author focuses on observable behaviors and physical characteristics throughout a general overview and brief introductions to 10 arachnids. She closes with specific methodology that includes both a chart of eye patterns and a set of systematic questions that will help distinguish true spiders from close relatives. As always, Kunkel’s bright, sharp, close-up photographs and even closer-up electron micrographs, all with detailed production notes, are a highlight—the former artfully angled to show body parts and coloration, the latter using false colors to make spinnerets and other tiny physical features easily visible. Though the author’s argument that spiders are our friends (in support of which she even enlists E.B. White’s Charlotte) is vitiated by frequent images and mentions of black widows, brown recluses, some Australian spiders, and how seldom anyone actually dies from venomous bites, the mixed message will still draw both budding naturalists and readers after cheap thrills in equal numbers.
An unusual approach to the creepiest of crawlies, likely to snare unwary passers-by in droves. (index, multimedia resource lists, glossary) (Nonfiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2871-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2015
Epic lunacy.
Will extragalactic rats eat the moon?
Can a cybernetic toenail clipper find a worthy purpose in the vast universe? Will the first feline astronaut ever get a slice of pizza? Read on. Reworked from the Live Cartoon series of homespun video shorts released on Instagram in 2020 but retaining that “we’re making this up as we go” quality, the episodic tale begins with the electrifying discovery that our moon is being nibbled away. Off blast one strong, silent, furry hero—“Meow”—and a stowaway robot to our nearest celestial neighbor to hook up with the imperious Queen of the Moon and head toward the dark side, past challenges from pirates on the Sea of Tranquility and a sphinx with a riddle (“It weighs a ton, but floats on air. / It’s bald but has a lot of hair.” The answer? “Meow”). They endure multiple close but frustratingly glancing encounters with pizza and finally deliver the malign, multiheaded Rat King and its toothy armies to a suitable fate. Cue the massive pizza party! Aside from one pirate captain and a general back on Earth, the human and humanoid cast in Harris’ loosely drawn cartoon panels, from the appropriately moon-faced queen on, is light skinned. Merch, music, and the original episodes are available on an associated website.
Epic lunacy. (Graphic science fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: May 10, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-308408-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Ironically, by choosing such a dramatic catalyst, the author weakens the adventure’s impact overall and leaves readers to...
A group of talking farm animals catches wind of the farm owner’s intention to burn the barn (with them in it) for insurance money and hatches a plan to flee.
Bond begins briskly—within the first 10 pages, barn cat Burdock has overheard Dewey Baxter’s nefarious plan, and by Page 17, all of the farm animals have been introduced and Burdock is sharing the terrifying news. Grady, Dewey’s (ever-so-slightly) more principled brother, refuses to go along, but instead of standing his ground, he simply disappears. This leaves the animals to fend for themselves. They do so by relying on their individual strengths and one another. Their talents and personalities match their species, bringing an element of realism to balance the fantasy elements. However, nothing can truly compensate for the bland horror of the premise. Not the growing sense of family among the animals, the serendipitous intervention of an unknown inhabitant of the barn, nor the convenient discovery of an alternate home. Meanwhile, Bond’s black-and-white drawings, justly compared to those of Garth Williams, amplify the sense of dissonance. Charming vignettes and single- and double-page illustrations create a pastoral world into which the threat of large-scale violence comes as a shock.
Ironically, by choosing such a dramatic catalyst, the author weakens the adventure’s impact overall and leaves readers to ponder the awkward coincidences that propel the plot. (Animal fantasy. 8-10)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-544-33217-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2015
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