A solid look at animals in the winter and the ways they weather the weather.
People take vacations to warmer climes, put on heavier clothing, and hunker down in warm buildings in the winter. How do animals survive the season?
In a play on the traditional childhood chant, “finders, keepers, losers, weepers,” Kulekjian divides animals into several groups according to how they tackle wintry weather. Hiders find places to hole up while it’s cold; hibernation, brumation, diapause, and torpor are all introduced. Seekers look for places that are better suited to them (migration): places where food is easier to find or where the weather is warmer. And the finders keep…warm with heavier coats, full with stashes of food, and close in order to stay warm together. Many animals in this last group have adaptations that help them survive winter conditions. The main text is printed right on the full-bleed spreads. Further information about the science or the species on the page is provided in round text bubbles; for example, bee colonies die out each autumn, the queen going into diapause, then laying eggs and starting new colonies each spring. Perera’s digital illustrations reflect the palettes of fall and winter, the realistic-looking scenes featuring many opportunities to spy animals in their natural habitats. A brown-skinned parent and child are seen periodically, their bond and their love of the outdoors both clear. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A solid look at animals in the winter and the ways they weather the weather. (track guide, author’s note, resources) (Informational picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5253-0485-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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 Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be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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