Useful and enlightening—and certain to have youngsters observing the natural world with wonder.
Children watch the growth of a milkweed plant and admire the butterflies it attracts.
In quatrains, with the first and third lines repeated, Alladin’s poem describes the life cycle of a milkweed plant from seed through root, sprout, leaves, bud, flower, pod, and back to seed again. This steady progression is interrupted when the pods open with a “pop,” and the wind disperses the seeds. The narrative begins with two light-skinned kids enjoying the spring rain and ends with them playing in the snow that covers the ground in winter, an appropriate reminder of the cycle of seasons in much of North America. The relatively simple vocabulary would be appropriate for burgeoning readers. Anderson’s illustrations, done in colored pencils and pastels, depict the children following the progress of the milkweed shoot, enjoying the flower and the monarch butterflies attracted to it, and admiring the seed’s release and flight. The left-hand side of each spread includes green line drawings documenting the plant’s progress; the right-hand side features a full-page image. Of the many titles available on milkweeds and monarchs, this is one of the most accessible for youngsters reading on their own. Two end spreads illustrate the life cycles of the milkweed plant and monarch butterfly, while older readers and adults will appreciate the extensive backmatter, including a glossary, facts, information on the monarch’s migration, and selected reading.
Useful and enlightening—and certain to have youngsters observing the natural world with wonder. (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 29, 2025
ISBN: 9781772783384
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Pajama Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on.
Sharpson offers so-fish-ticated readers a heads up about the true terror of the seas.
The title says it all. Our unseen narrator is just fine with other animals: mammals. Reptiles. Even birds. But fish? Don’t trust them! First off, the rules always seem to change with fish. Some live in fresh water; some reside in salt water. Some have gills, while others have lungs. You can never see what they’re up to, since they hang out underwater, and they’re always eating those poor, innocent crabs. Soon, the narrator introduces readers to Jeff, a vacant-eyed yellow fish—but don’t be fooled! Jeff’s “the craftiest fish of all.” All fish are, apparently, hellbent on world domination, the narrator warns. “DON’T TRUST FISH!” Finally, at the tail end, we get a sly glimpse of our unreliable narrator. Readers needn’t be ichthyologists to appreciate Sharpson’s meticulous comic timing. (“Ships always sink at sea. They never sink on land. Isn’t that strange?”) His delightful text, filled to the brim with jokes that read aloud brilliantly, pairs perfectly with Santat’s art, which shifts between extreme realism and goofy hilarity. He also fills the book with his own clever gags (such as an image of Gilligan’s Island’s S.S. Minnow going down and a bottle of sauce labeled “Surly Chik’n Srir’racha’r”).
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 8, 2025
ISBN: 9780593616673
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
A solid addition to Rotner’s seasonal series. Bring on summer.
Rotner follows up her celebrations of spring and autumn with this look at all things winter.
Beginning with the signs that winter is coming—bare trees, shorter days, colder temperatures—Rotner eases readers into the season. People light fires and sing songs on the solstice, trees and plants stop growing, and shadows grow long. Ice starts to form on bodies of water and windows. When the snow flies, the fun begins—bundle up and then build forts, make snowballs and snowmen (with eyebrows!), sled, ski (nordic is pictured), skate, snowshoe, snowboard, drink hot chocolate. Animals adapt to the cold as well. “Birds grow more feathers” (there’s nothing about fluffing and air insulation) and mammals, more hair. They have to search for food, and Rotner discusses how many make or find shelter, slow down, hibernate, or go underground or underwater to stay warm. One page talks about celebrating holidays with lights and decorations. The photos show a lit menorah, an outdoor deciduous tree covered in huge Christmas bulbs, a girl next to a Chinese dragon head, a boy with lit luminarias, and some fireworks. The final spread shows signs of the season’s shift to spring. Rotner’s photos, as always, are a big draw. The children are a marvelous mix of cultures and races, and all show their clear delight with winter.
A solid addition to Rotner’s seasonal series. Bring on summer. (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3976-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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