Book-bait for middle-grade readers that oozes eww appeal.
What makes an animal gross?
In their latest entry in their World of Weird Animals series, Keating and DeGrand present 17 more curious creatures, this time animals that may inspire disgust. The Canadian-based zoologist-turned-author has found repulsive examples from around the world. These include slime-covered sea-dwellers, farting fish, gulls who projectile-vomit, even a Spanish newt that can extend its barbed ribs out through its poisonous skin. Zombie worms from ocean depths, tree frogs (who occasionally turn up in Australian toilets), and burrowing South American caecilians will likely be unfamiliar; common housefly larvae (maggots), Siberian chipmunks, and slobbery giraffes have surprisingly unsavory aspects. Poop protects a Marabou stork’s legs and provides meals for dung beetles. Mucus protects snot otters and parrotfish. Fully-formed toadlets hatch from a Surinam toad mother’s back. This title follows the pattern of previous ones: Spread by garishly colored spread, readers are introduced to weird and wonderful creatures with a photograph, two short paragraphs of intriguing information, and fast facts: common and Latin names, size, diet, habitat, and predators and threats. Words and phrases that may not be familiar (think “chytridiomycosis,” “cutaneous respiration,” “eviscerate,” “ocean acidification,” and “pharyngeal teeth”) are bolded in the text and defined in a glossary. Cartoon illustrations and a lively design complete the package. With no index or page numbers, this is fact-full but best for browsing.
Book-bait for middle-grade readers that oozes eww appeal. (Informational picture book. 7-11)Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6450-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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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