Refreshing and essential, like its subject.
An effervescent dive into water’s nature, use, misuse, and conservation.
Appropriately enough, the authors pour facts and statistics around and between reefs of vivid infographics, bright cartoon images, maps, flowcharts, and tiny but cogent photographs. They cover water’s cosmic origins, its earthly cycles (“It might once have been dinosaur pee, or Cleopatra’s bathwater”), and its roles in both weather and climate. Turning to our relationship with the stuff, they then spoon out summaries of world water myths over a comparative table of flood tales from selected cultures and religions, examine water’s uses in agriculture and in alternative-energy production, and survey ways in which water becomes polluted. Introducing the idea of a “water footprint,” they top it all off with suggestions for both personal and collective ways of conserving fresh water and keeping it clean. Young eco-activists will gulp this down, and even less-motivated students won’t find themselves in over their heads.
Refreshing and essential, like its subject. (source notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 8-10)Pub Date: April 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-55451-822-7
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
A classic story of outsiders making friends—with a little something more.
After moving to a new city, a girl attends a wilderness camp to help her make new friends.
When astronomy-obsessed 9-year-old Vega’s dad Wes gets a new job, the family moves from Portland to Seattle. Vega is not happy about this change and doesn’t want to leave her best friend behind, worrying they will grow apart. Vega’s dad Javi thinks making new friends will help her adjust, so he signs her up for Camp Very Best Friend, which is designed to help introverted local children build new friendships. Vega is not exactly eager to go but makes a deal with Wes, agreeing to try out camp as long as he tries to make a new friend too. It quickly becomes clear that this is no ordinary outdoor adventure, and Vega and her fellow campers try to figure out what is really going on. The story smoothly incorporates STEM facts with insets on the page to define and highlight terms or tools. An unexpected twist toward the end of this fast-paced adventure that reveals the truth behind the camp will surprise readers. The clean, bright artwork is enhanced by panels of varying shapes and clear, easy-to-follow speech bubbles. Race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation are not explicitly addressed; characters’ names and physical appearances indicate a broadly diverse cast starting with brown-skinned Vega and her two dads.
A classic story of outsiders making friends—with a little something more. (Graphic fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: June 29, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-5566-5
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2021
A picture book combines the exuberance of children and the drama found in nature for a sly lesson on power-sharing. Henderson (Newborn, 1999, etc.) lands on the wide reaches of a windy beach where young Jim expansively flings wide his arms and claims “All this is mine!” So it seems until the wind blows in a gale so violent that it smashes objects and tears “through the dreams of people sleeping.” An eerie series of black-and-white paintings shows the white-capped waves breaking ever higher and crashing inland; these are so frightening that Jim cries out to his mother, “The sea! It’s coming!” Happily enough, Jim and his mother are able to run up the hill to a grandmother’s house where they weather the storm safely. The next time Jim speaks to the wind, on a much quieter beach, he whispers, “All this is yours.” Large type, appealing pastel illustrations, and a dose of proper perspective on humankind’s power over nature make this book a fine choice for story hours as well as nature collections. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-7636-0904-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1999
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