A brilliant and informative introduction to humans’ architectural and social adaptability.
Could you live on a steep mountain, cut off from the rest of the world? Or in an arid desert?
A brief conversational introduction asks readers to imagine themselves living in these and other challenging sites: a jungle, a mountain, an island. Laroche reminds us that in addition to survival skills, a certain attitude or emotional commitment is necessary, reflected in the comment of one resident of a remote Himalayan valley: “It’s too beautiful to leave.” For each place, a concise, engaging opening paragraph continues to invite readers to imagine themselves living there, mentioning some specific experiences, features, wildlife, or occupations that inhabitants might encounter. Vivid details bring a variety of cultures to life. Four smaller-type boxes then describe the geophysical environment, the residents, a “fascinating fact,” and human adaptation to the site. These places span the globe, including locations in the South Atlantic, North Africa, the Indian Ocean, Siberia, the Himalayas, the Andes, the South Pacific, and the Arabian Sea. Two final world maps pinpoint each of the 13 settlements. Cloth, mud, wood, and stone houses, as well as gers (Mongolian dwellings that can be easily transported), floating reed-mat huts, and human-altered caves come to life in dimensional layered paper. One page reveals six painstaking and detailed stages in creating Laroche’s precise, cut-paper relief collages. The author/illustrator concludes with a helpful list of selected sources.
A brilliant and informative introduction to humans’ architectural and social adaptability. (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9780358690184
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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