Striking graphics and a spare, readable text will have young readers snatching up this snake book by this prolific and talented science writer. Without any wasted words, she describes how some of the 2,500 species of snakes hunt, hide, eat, reproduce, and move. Patent states, “There is nothing extra about a snake.” And then goes on to explain how different snakes find, catch, swallow their prey, and avoid being someone else’s lunch. She introduces the pit viper, which subdues its prey with poison, and the boa constrictor, which squeezes its prey to death. She explains how some snakes hide with camouflage and others “play dead.” Patent notes the damage snakes can do when introduced into new environments, for instance, the brown tree snake introduced into Guam that decimated much of the bird and bat population—but points out that most snakes are useful, eating insects and pests. Snakes are referred to by their common name in the text, but an index supplies the scientific name for each. However, when three red-, yellow-, and black-banded snakes appear on the same page, it is hard to determine which is the poisonous coral snake, and which the harmless king snake. Information on the geographic range is only provided on the end papers with a world map. Dramatic illustrations by Jubb are boldly colored, though somewhat lacking in precision. Snakes lunge, leer, writhe, and slide in and out of pages. It is often hard to tell where these snakes begin or end. Often four or five different snakes will appear on the same page, though in nature they are found in very different regions and habitats. Black and orange, green and gold, blue and black, these snakes are more decorative than authentic. Young readers will need to look elsewhere for a field guide, but this is a good introduction and attractive for browsing. (Nonfiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-8027-8743-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2000
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
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock”...
The theme of persistence (for better or worse) links four tales of magic, trickery, and near disasters.
Lachenmeyer freely borrows familiar folkloric elements, subjecting them to mildly comical twists. In the nearly wordless “Hip Hop Wish,” a frog inadvertently rubs a magic lamp and finds itself saddled with an importunate genie eager to shower it with inappropriate goods and riches. In the title tale, an increasingly annoyed music-hating witch transforms a persistent minstrel into a still-warbling cow, horse, sheep, goat, pig, duck, and rock in succession—then is horrified to catch herself humming a tune. Athesius the sorcerer outwits Warthius, a rival trying to steal his spells via a parrot, by casting silly ones in Ig-pay Atin-lay in the third episode, and in the finale, a painter’s repeated efforts to create a flattering portrait of an ogre king nearly get him thrown into a dungeon…until he suddenly understands what an ogre’s idea of “flattering” might be. The narratives, dialogue, and sound effects leave plenty of elbow room in Blocker’s big, brightly colored panels for the expressive animal and human(ish) figures—most of the latter being light skinned except for the golden genie, the blue ogre, and several people of color in the “Sorcerer’s New Pet.”
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock” music. (Graphic short stories. 8-10)Pub Date: June 18, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-59643-750-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
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