by Ellen Jackson & illustrated by Ron Miller ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2006
An imaginary space voyage is the device used to introduce seven planets and four moons of the solar system to middle-grade readers. Engaging informal diary entries are set on double-page spreads of photo-like illustrations. The spreads depict the traveler outlined as a cartoon character hitting a baseball, turning aerial somersaults, smelling an air sample, jetting among the rocks of Saturn’s rings and swooshing in his rocket ship with “space-warp drive” before returning to earth, the only place providing humans with the water, food and air necessary to live. The backmatter includes fast facts (size, gravity, day, year, atmosphere, temperature and spacecraft visitors), a glossary, web sites and books for kids, as well as the author’s bibliography and acknowledgments. While the information is up-to-date, the approach is superficial and occasionally misleading. Pair with Ken Crosswell’s Ten Worlds (May 2006) or other titles that use actual photos and present their information straight, or save your money. (Nonfiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-7613-3405-X
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Millbrook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2006
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by Joanna Rzezak ; illustrated by Joanna Rzezak ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 18, 2021
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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by Seymour Simon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2003
Simon tackles his latest natural disaster in trademark but not very modern style. Information on hurricanes is clearly presented but poorly organized, and lacks any sense of drama or story. Aimed at the same age group as Dorothy Souza’s Hurricanes (1996) and Patricia Lauber’s Hurricanes: Earth’s Mightiest Storms, this falls short of both, often going into too much pedantic detail—the wind speeds of tropical depressions versus tropical storms—while failing to put needed perspective on some of the more eye-popping statistics. A hurricane can move more than a million cubic miles of atmosphere per second—but the naked numbers are essentially meaningless to students who think of millions in terms of ballplayers’ salaries and can’t imagine cubic miles at all. Photos of smashed houses and boats in front yards add excitement, but others—plain clouds?—detract; some are very grainy when blown up to the requisite full page. Formulaic and a numbing read-aloud. (Nonfiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-688-16291-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2003
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