A mixed introduction to the aurora borealis that nevertheless may have readers itching to start hunts of their own.
A young girl and her mother chase the aurora borealis.
After viewing a solar eclipse, Alix worries that she’ll never see anything so wonderful again. Her mom’s passing comment that auroras are “pretty cool” gets the girl researching, and before long, she’s managed to tag along on her mom’s Alaska work trip (Alix pays for her own ticket). The two pet a reindeer calf (though its antlers indicate it’s at least 3 years old in the illustration) and go dog sledding, but they see only a faint green glow in the sky. Undaunted, they visit Glacier National Park, where they see a green arch overhead, but it’s right in their own Pacific Northwest neck of the woods that they see the spectacular light show they longed for, aided by an app that sends out aurora alerts. Unfortunately, the vast majority of science facts are found only in the dense, text-heavy backmatter, which explains the science behind eclipses and auroras, describes how to hunt for them and the best conditions for seeing them, and provides further resources. Lee’s nature scenes can be luminous, the colors at their best seeming to glow on the pages and beckon readers in. In contrast, the indoor scenes and views of the white-presenting mother and daughter can be awkward and pull readers out of the wonder that is the great outdoors.
A mixed introduction to the aurora borealis that nevertheless may have readers itching to start hunts of their own. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5132-6290-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: West Margin Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
An unusual offering for the young geology nerd.
This British import is an imaginatively constructed sequence of images that show a white boy examining a city pavement, clearly in London, and the sights he would see if he were able to travel down to the Earth’s core and then back again to the surface.
The geologic layers are depicted in 10 vertical spreads that require a 90-degree turn to be read and include endpapers, which open out, concertina fashion, to show the interior of the Earth to its core. Beneath the urban setting are drains, pipes, and artifacts of urban infrastructure. Below that, archaeological relics are revealed. An Underground train speeds by, and below it, a stalactite-encrusted cave yawns. Deep below the Earth’s crust, magma, the Earth’s mantle, and the inner core are shown. Turn the page to start going up again, back through the mantle to the crust, where precious minerals are revealed, then fossils, tree roots, and animal burrows, ending with the same boy in the English countryside. The painted, stenciled, and collaged illustrations are full-bleed, and the tones graduate pleasantly from light colors at the surface of the Earth to rich pinks, yellows, and oranges as readers near the Earth’s core. The text is informative, if lacking in poetry, including such nuggets as “earthworms are expert recyclers, eating dead plants in the soil.”
An unusual offering for the young geology nerd. (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68297-136-9
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Words & Pictures
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of...
An international story tackles a serious global issue with Reynolds’ characteristic visual whimsy.
Gie Gie—aka Princess Gie Gie—lives with her parents in Burkina Faso. In her kingdom under “the African sky, so wild and so close,” she can tame wild dogs with her song and make grass sway, but despite grand attempts, she can neither bring the water closer to home nor make it clean. French words such as “maintenant!” (now!) and “maman” (mother) and local color like the karite tree and shea nuts place the story in a French-speaking African country. Every morning, Gie Gie and her mother perch rings of cloth and large clay pots on their heads and walk miles to the nearest well to fetch murky, brown water. The story is inspired by model Georgie Badiel, who founded the Georgie Badiel Foundation to make clean water accessible to West Africans. The details in Reynolds’ expressive illustrations highlight the beauty of the West African landscape and of Princess Gie Gie, with her cornrowed and beaded hair, but will also help readers understand that everyone needs clean water—from the children of Burkina Faso to the children of Flint, Michigan.
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of potable water. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-17258-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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