Bug lovers will have plenty to buzz about after reading this picture book.
Join spunky Bella as she explores her neighborhood in search of different bugs.
Bella prepares for her bug hunt by gathering the requisite tools before heading outside. She soon encounters her pal Billy, and together they marvel at a line of industrious ants. Ant facts are shared via annotated diagrams. The two kids move on to investigations of bees, bugs that jump, flying insects, and those found in a pond. Bella demonstrates an activity called “pond dipping,” which allows a young entomologist to closely examine pond-dwelling creatures by using a white tray and a small net. The story moves briskly into metamorphosis, catching bugs in a tumble trap, and more. Bella never harms the bugs, and she returns them to their habitats. At the end of the day, Bella finds herself back at home and ready for bed after a full day of arthropod appreciation. The pages are crammed with text in varying font sizes, covering a broad range of insect-related topics. Young readers can enjoy searching for Nancy, the house spider who makes an appearance on each double-page spread. The full-color digital illustrations are bright and keep pace with the information-driven plot. Bella and her caregiver are White; Billy has dark brown skin; and Pedro, another of Bella’s friends, has light brown skin and wears hearing aids. Insect conservation tips comprise the backmatter. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Bug lovers will have plenty to buzz about after reading this picture book. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 19, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-7112-6562-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Happy Yak
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Another playful imagination-stretcher.
Markle invites children to picture themselves living in the homes of 11 wild animals.
As in previous entries in the series, McWilliam’s illustrations of a diverse cast of young people fancifully imitating wild creatures are paired with close-up photos of each animal in a like natural setting. The left side of one spread includes a photo of a black bear nestling in a cozy winter den, while the right side features an image of a human one cuddled up with a bear. On another spread, opposite a photo of honeybees tending to newly hatched offspring, a human “larva” lounges at ease in a honeycomb cell, game controller in hand, as insect attendants dish up goodies. A child with an eye patch reclines on an orb weaver spider’s web, while another wearing a head scarf constructs a castle in a subterranean chamber with help from mound-building termites. Markle adds simple remarks about each type of den, nest, or burrow and basic facts about its typical residents, then closes with a reassuring reminder to readers that they don’t have to live as animals do, because they will “always live where people live.” A select gallery of traditional homes, from igloo and yurt to mudhif, follows a final view of the young cast waving from a variety of differently styled windows.
Another playful imagination-stretcher. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781339049052
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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