A winning combination of gross-out appeal and scientific information that will have kids giggling and learning.
A raucously entertaining exploration of gauche behaviors from the animal kingdom.
Stiefel combines humor with scientific insight to showcase creatures whose survival strategies—among them the howler monkey’s screech and the camel’s habit of spitting—happen to align with behaviors human parents generally try to discourage. The book’s smart design breaks down information into easily digestible sections; readers can dive into specific chapters such as “Gas Passers” or “Barfers” without reading cover to cover, making the work perfect for repeat browsing. Each animal profile features helpful text boxes with key details like size, range, habitat, and conservation status, allowing readers to quickly grasp essential facts. Oliver’s colorful, cartoon-style illustrations complement the irreverent tone while accurately depicting each animal’s distinctive features. The engaging, language-rich content reveals genuinely interesting information; for example, Pacific herring communicate through “Fast Repetitive Tics, or FRTs,” and animals such as mice, rabbits, and guinea pigs “feast on their own feces (or dine on their own dung, or gorge on their own guano…).” The book’s greatest strength lies in its interviews with scientists, including biochemist Antonio Cerullo and shark scientist Yakira Herskowitz. These conversations don’t just explain animal behaviors—they reveal the diverse career paths in animal science while demonstrating how scientists think and work. Connections to human behavior feel natural and help readers understand that many “rude” biological functions serve important purposes across species.
A winning combination of gross-out appeal and scientific information that will have kids giggling and learning. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781454956440
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
A variety show brimming with esoteric and practical information.
Two youngsters embark on a journey peppered with history, trivia, and skits while teaching money lessons.
Meet Mellody and John, the young stars of this currency showcase. Their very first dialogue offers a taste of the intriguing information to come, from the ancient Mayans’ use of cacao beans as payment to the origins of the piggy bank. The book offers a chronologically and geographically broad timeline of the history of money, encompassing the past 3.9 billion years (starting with meteorite crashes that scattered metals—“the very first bank deposit”) and referencing practices across five continents. Readers will find themselves eagerly sharing the facts gleaned here, including the centuries-old origins of terms and expressions still used today. Mellody and John’s fun banter crucially reflects their experiences with money, such as their families’ differing attitudes toward allowances. Both are savers as well as givers, sharing stories about giving to charity. In one especially entertaining section, a cat and a bunny converse in money-related catchphrases that are separately defined at the bottom of each page. Stevens’ watercolors are appropriately realistic and appealing, whether depicting Mellody’s pretend bank or Elizabeth II’s butler ironing a 10-pound note. Messages about money’s use as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself, ensure that readers will think about their own purposes for their savings. Mellody and John are Black.
A variety show brimming with esoteric and practical information. (index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781536224719
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.
This book is buzzing with trivia.
Follow a swarm of bees as they leave a beekeeper’s apiary in search of a new home. As the scout bees traverse the fields, readers are provided with a potpourri of facts and statements about bees. The information is scattered—much like the scout bees—and as a result, both the nominal plot and informational content are tissue-thin. There are some interesting facts throughout the book, but many pieces of trivia are too, well trivial, to prove useful. For example, as the bees travel, readers learn that “onion flowers are round and fluffy” and “fennel is a plant that is used in cooking.” Other facts are oversimplified and as a result are not accurate. For example, monofloral honey is defined as “made by bees who visit just one kind of flower” with no acknowledgment of the fact that bees may range widely, and swarm activity is described as a springtime event, when it can also occur in summer and early fall. The information in the book, such as species identification and measurement units, is directed toward British readers. The flat, thin-lined artwork does little to enhance the story, but an “I spy” game challenging readers to find a specific bee throughout is amusing.
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere. (Informational picture book. 8-10)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-500-65265-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
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