An ambitious but somewhat generic guide to urban environments.
Almost 70% of us will live in a city by 2050, so our urban past, present, and future are topics of interest.
Good questions are posed in this book translated from French, beginning with where and when cities were first constructed, but answers are often general: “a long time ago,” “often…near rivers, seas, or oceans.” Although suburbs are ancient, the authors begin their look at the suburbs “at the end of the 19th century.” A sunny view of environmental responsibility prevails; threats like crime, overcrowding, or disease go unmentioned (or are mentioned only briefly), and the very greatest, climate change, is glossed over. The pages on public services have useful diagrams but fail to cite water shortages or to tell us how many (or few) global urbanites have access to potable water and sanitation; nuclear energy is not cited as an energy source, though coal is. Many brief summaries contain vast generalizations (“the city makes sure its roads and parking lots are well maintained”). A depiction of slums misleadingly shows large masonry houses in good repair, but the soft-edged illustrations are innovative, clear, and amusing. Humanized cat-citizens join diverse, funny-looking people in droll spreads. Famous landmarks form an unbroken cityscape on one spread, while people of various ethnicities, origins, and time periods make one continuous crowd on another. Information is integrated into the illustration layouts.
An ambitious but somewhat generic guide to urban environments. (glossary, further resources) (Nonfiction. 7-11)Pub Date: March 28, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-77278-273-8
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Pajama Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe.
An introduction to gravity.
The book opens with the most iconic demonstration of gravity, an apple falling. Throughout, Herz tackles both huge concepts—how gravity compresses atoms to form stars and how black holes pull all kinds of matter toward them—and more concrete ones: how gravity allows you to jump up and then come back down to the ground. Gravity narrates in spare yet lyrical verse, explaining how it creates planets and compresses atoms and comparing itself to a hug. “My embrace is tight enough that you don’t float like a balloon, but loose enough that you can run and leap and play.” Gravity personifies itself at times: “I am stubborn—the bigger things are, the harder I pull.” Beautiful illustrations depict swirling planets and black holes alongside racially diverse children playing, running, and jumping, all thanks to gravity. Thorough backmatter discusses how Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity and explains Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. While at times Herz’s explanations may be a bit too technical for some readers, burgeoning scientists will be drawn in.
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe. (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: April 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668936849
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tilbury House
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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