An informative, effective, and poetic introduction to a desert’s beauty and complexity.
A picture book offers an ode to the Sonoran Desert’s brief, intense bloom.
“Heat waves build, swell and sweep, shimmer and simmer, across my lands. I burn.” This Southwestern desert may appear to be devoid of life, but Pattison’s narration describes the Sonoran as a body filled with flora and fauna that can wait long periods for the fleeting rainfall that will animate them. Debut illustrator Kim’s colorful collages of repurposed paper depict an owl and a nest of eggs, a mountain lion that lies in the hot sand, and purple storm clouds that burst to flood the dry landscape. “The monsoon has sprouted my seeds,” the desert declares. A coyote sniffs at the steaming earth at the base of a cactus. Overnight, eggs crack, flowers erupt into bloom, and “gorgeous, outrageous, fragrant, frail LIFE” fills the desert; toads emerge from puddles and chicks wander the hills. When the desert dries out once more, the seeds from flowers scatter on the wind to wait for rain. Large, legible text with plenty of alliteration and assonance combined with realistic, intriguing pictures of a huge range of animal and plant life make this an engaging storytime read for preschoolers. An extensive notes section at the end of the book gives a short overview of the life cycle of the depicted species, from kangaroo rats and spadefoot toads to chuckwallas and Gambel’s quail, and offers readers enlightening details about the Sonoran’s ecology.
An informative, effective, and poetic introduction to a desert’s beauty and complexity.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 9781629441771
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Mims House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book.
Ada Twist’s incessant stream of questions leads to answers that help solve a neighborhood crisis.
Ada conducts experiments at home to answer questions such as, why does Mom’s coffee smell stronger than Dad’s coffee? Each answer leads to another question, another hypothesis, and another experiment, which is how she goes from collecting data on backyard birds for a citizen-science project to helping Rosie Revere figure out how to get her uncle Ned down from the sky, where his helium-filled “perilous pants” are keeping him afloat. The Questioneers—Rosie the engineer, Iggy Peck the architect, and Ada the scientist—work together, asking questions like scientists. Armed with knowledge (of molecules and air pressure, force and temperature) but more importantly, with curiosity, Ada works out a solution. Ada is a recognizable, three-dimensional girl in this delightfully silly chapter book: tirelessly curious and determined yet easily excited and still learning to express herself. If science concepts aren’t completely clear in this romp, relationships and emotions certainly are. In playful full- and half-page illustrations that break up the text, Ada is black with Afro-textured hair; Rosie and Iggy are white. A closing section on citizen science may inspire readers to get involved in science too; on the other hand, the “Ode to a Gas!” may just puzzle them. Other backmatter topics include the importance of bird study and the threat palm-oil use poses to rainforests.
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3422-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader!
Fun with friends makes for a great day.
Norbit, a salmon-colored worm with a pink kerchief, joyfully greets the day and everyone he encounters. “Hello, friends! It’s time for fun with the sun! Let’s play!” He and his menagerie of forest pals—including the sun, who grows limbs and descends from the sky—exuberantly engage in various forms of physical activity such as jumping, going down a slide, spinning around, and watching the clouds go by. Young readers will readily relate, as these are games that most children are familiar with. As day turns to night, Norbit says farewell to Sun and welcomes Moon with an invitation to continue the fun. Watkins has created a vivid world of movement and merriment. Her illustrations feature bright bursts of color that match the energy of the text, with most sentences ending in an exclamation point. The author/illustrator incorporates many elements that make for an ideal early-reading experience (despite the use of a contraction or two): art free from clutter, text consisting of words with only one or two syllables, and repetition and recurring bits, such as a continued game of hide-and-seek with Sun. Inspired by never-before-seen sketches from the Dr. Seuss Collection archives at the University of California San Diego, this is the first title for Seuss Studios, a new imprint for original stories from “emerging authors and illustrators” who “honor Seuss’s hallmark spirit of creativity and imagination.”
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader! (author's note) (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780593646212
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Seuss Studios
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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