A true homage to these wondrous creatures.
Young humpback whales have much in common with human children.
A very young child describes the life of a mother humpback whale and her calf and how it mirrors their own. The whale mother keeps her baby safe so it can grow and learn, as does the narrator’s own human mother. Both mothers care for their offspring with great tenderness and love. As the child and the baby whale grow bigger and stronger, they can do more things on their own. Both youngsters find excitement jumping and diving in the water. There are many more similarities. Blowing a plume matches blowing bubbles, and both can shout and sing. The whale and the child can cuddle with their moms as they fall asleep to dream of their shared worlds. The child describes the whale’s actions as if speaking directly to the creature, employing lovely, soaring language that reflects great admiration and wonder for all humpback whales. The child narrates their own actions more simply, with joy and excitement at growing stronger and more able. As each of the whales’ life experiences is followed by the child’s comparison, Kikuchi’s illustrations match the same pattern. The whales are shown in their home environment in the vastness of the blue sea while the child is seen on shore in the brightness of the sun. These whales are shown accurately, with fins, flukes, knobs, and mouths in correct proportion and the beauty of their movements honored. Child and mother have olive skin and straight, black hair.
A true homage to these wondrous creatures. (afterword) (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: May 25, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77164-573-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greystone Kids
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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