A vivid, comprehensive account of the Roswell mystery and its aftermath.
Separating the facts from the fallacies concerning aliens and UFOs, from the 1940s to today.
The spectacular crash of an unidentified flying object in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947 triggers national interest. Local rancher Mack Brazel checks out the strange-looking debris with his two kids, later talking with reporters. In the following years, public interest as well as investigations from the military accelerate. Rampant speculation, intense research, and plain hysteria follow, with books, movies, and the forming of UFO groups. Are little green men from Venus preparing to attack our country? Decades later, supposed proof of an alien invasion refers back to the testimony of original Roswell witnesses and reexamined documents. There is an ebb and flow to the discovery of information. In 1997, the Air Force admits to a coverup of a secret operation from the 1940s called Project Mogul. In 2006, the makers of a documentary that purported to show an alien autopsy admit that it was a fake. Research continues up to the present day; readers must decide for themselves. Fleming presents an impressive volume of information in a crisp and concise manner, helping readers grasp the big picture. The real stars of the book, though, are her carefully chosen visuals: Dozens of black-and-white photographs as well as reproductions of official documents, newspaper pages, cartoons, and more add both atmosphere and authenticity.
A vivid, comprehensive account of the Roswell mystery and its aftermath. (author’s note, bibliography, source notes, image credits, index) (Nonfiction. 9-13)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-82946-4
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Scholastic Focus
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
Contentwise, an arbitrary assortment…but sure to draw fans of comics, of science, or of both.
Flash, Batman, and other characters from the DC Comics universe tackle supervillains and STEM-related topics and sometimes, both.
Credited to 20 writers and illustrators in various combinations, the 10 episodes invite readers to tag along as Mera and Aquaman visit oceanic zones from epipelagic to hadalpelagic; Supergirl helps a young scholar pick a science-project topic by taking her on a tour of the solar system; and Swamp Thing lends Poison Ivy a hand to describe how DNA works (later joining Swamp Kid to scuttle a climate-altering scheme by Arcane). In other episodes, various costumed creations explain the ins and outs of diverse large- and small-scale phenomena, including electricity, atomic structure, forensic techniques, 3-D printing, and the lactate threshold. Presumably on the supposition that the characters will be more familiar to readers than the science, the minilectures tend to start from simple basics, but the figures are mostly both redrawn to look more childlike than in the comics and identified only in passing. Drawing styles and page designs differ from chapter to chapter but not enough to interrupt overall visual unity and flow—and the cast is sufficiently diverse to include roles for superheroes (and villains) of color like Cyborg, Kid Flash, and the Latina Green Lantern, Jessica Cruz. Appended lists of websites and science-based YouTube channels, plus instructions for homespun activities related to each episode, point inspired STEM-winders toward further discoveries.
Contentwise, an arbitrary assortment…but sure to draw fans of comics, of science, or of both. (Graphic nonfiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77950-382-4
Page Count: 160
Publisher: DC
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care.
In 1977, the oil carrier Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil into a formerly pristine Alaskan ocean inlet, killing millions of birds, animals, and fish. Despite a cleanup, crude oil is still there.
The Winters foretold the destructive powers of the atomic bomb allusively in The Secret Project (2017), leaving the actuality to the backmatter. They make no such accommodations to young audiences in this disturbing book. From the dark front cover, on which oily blobs conceal a seabird, to the rescuer’s sad face on the back, the mother-son team emphasizes the disaster. A relatively easy-to-read and poetically heightened text introduces the situation. Oil is pumped from the Earth “all day long, all night long, / day after day, year after year” in “what had been unspoiled land, home to Native people // and thousands of caribou.” The scale of extraction is huge: There’s “a giant pipeline” leading to “enormous ships.” Then, crash. Rivers of oil gush out over three full-bleed wordless pages. Subsequent scenes show rocks, seabirds, and sea otters covered with oil. Finally, 30 years later, animals have returned to a cheerful scene. “But if you lift a rock… // oil / seeps / up.” For an adult reader, this is heartbreaking. How much more difficult might this be for an animal-loving child?
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3077-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
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