Globalization is integral to today’s society, and everyone, children and adults, needs a better sense of geography, but this atlas with old-fashioned watercolor illustrations and painted maps that are difficult to read is not the best way for kids to learn. It includes tidbits of information about history, holidays, inventions and foods, but it lacks area and population figures. Children in the middle-elementary grades need clear maps and photos to gain a sense of reality about the world. Warm fuzzy feelings (“Nature has given our planet amazing landforms”) and disparate fun facts have a place, but unfortunately this “introduction,” with its pop-up globe and stickers (not seen, but they may be the best part of the package) does little to de-romanticize the world’s cultures (in Ho Chi Minh City, “people ride bicycles instead of driving cars”). This oversimplified approach may work in other books in the A Child’s Introduction to… series, but in this subject area, The National Geographic World Atlas for Young Explorers (2007) is a better choice for home, schools and public libraries. (bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-57912-832-6
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2010
Miranda’s book counts the monsters gathering at a birthday party, while a simple rhyming text keeps the tally and surveys the action: “Seven starved monsters are licking the dishes./Eight blow out candles and make birthday wishes.” The counting proceeds to ten, then by tens to fifty, then gradually returns to one, which makes the monster’s mother, a purple pin-headed octopus, very happy. The book is surprisingly effective due to Powell’s artwork; the color has texture and density, as if it were poured onto the page, but the real attention-getter is the singularity of every monster attendee. They are highly individual and, therefore, eminently countable. As the numbers start crawling upward, it is both fun and a challenge to try to recognize monsters who have appeared in previous pages, or to attempt to stay focused when counting the swirling or bunched creatures. The story has glints of humor, and in combination with the illustrations is a grand addition to the counting shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201835-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
The Pumpkin Book (32 pp.; $16.95; Sept. 15; 0-8234-1465-5): From seed to vine and blossom to table, Gibbons traces the growth cycle of everyone’s favorite autumn symbol—the pumpkin. Meticulous drawings detail the transformation of tiny seeds to the colorful gourds that appear at roadside stands and stores in the fall. Directions for planting a pumpkin patch, carving a jack-o’-lantern, and drying the seeds give young gardeners the instructions they need to grow and enjoy their own golden globes. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 1999
ISBN: 0-8234-1465-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
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