Nicolson gathers and answers two-dozen fundamental curiosities of the human condition. Why do we laugh, why do we cry? Why sleep, why play? What role do hiccups serve, and, really, what is it about passing gas, in either direction? The author melds the playful with the insightful as she explains the mechanisms behind such elemental human acts as yawning and vomiting, with evolutionary and biological factors sharing the page with some good—and mildly disgusting—color commentary: “Ever wonder why your vomit sometimes contains little chunks of orange stuff…? These are bits of your stomach lining, torn off by the squeezing action.” Yes, well, at least that is less unnerving than the sea cucumber—Nicolson wisely introduces other species into the picture for context and variety—which vomits up its entire stomach and other internal organs. The text is good natured and light on its feet, whether it is laying out the theoretical underpinnings of why we see in color, drumming with urgency in describing the fight-or-flight response or probing the mists of time to gain insight into memory, the pleasure of pets or our response to music. Eastman’s digital photo-collages are nicely attuned to the text, with enough wackiness to bring out the humor yet also built up of parts that call attention to the expository material. (Nonfiction. 6-10)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-55453-569-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2011
A gleeful game for budding naturalists.
Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.
In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781728271170
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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