Thematically moot but likely to fascinate both budding painters and lovers of wild creatures and spaces.
An invitation to see and appreciate how 12 generic habitats exhibit distinctive color schemes.
Konečná’s painterly approach comes through strongly, as each spread features a populous array of finely brushed images of flora and fauna topped by a row of 12 large, labeled daubs that identify most of the hues found beneath—though not all of them, which rather vitiates the thesis. Within the crowded “polar regions” habitat, for instance, the artist uses seven different blues, three whites, and, visually adjacent to both, “frozen grass” and “winter breath,” but warmer reds, browns, and yellows in both flora and fauna go unremarked. Also, in severe contrast to the sober, respectful tone of the art, the succinct narrative (in an uncredited translation from Czech) tends toward rhapsodic fancies more ludicrous than lyrical: “A-oo, taiga, the cold beauty of the North—we fall at your feet!”; “Fragrant oranges put their ears to the lips of olives.” (Italicized words refer to depicted plants and animals.) Like the colors, the wildlife is all labeled…if in a florid cursive script that less-confident readers may struggle to decipher. Still, none of the highlighted colors (or at least their names, which are standard ones) are used more than once, and their very arrangement atop each spread offers lessons in color harmonies that are reinforced by a discussion and color wheel on the final pages.
Thematically moot but likely to fascinate both budding painters and lovers of wild creatures and spaces. (Informational picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: June 29, 2021
ISBN: 978-80-00-05934-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Albatros Media
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 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
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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