Budding naturalists will eagerly dip their toes into this one.
The true story of a girl whose love for pond scum saved America’s waterways.
At age 5, Ruth Patrick took her first look at pond scum in her father’s microscope. The shimmering, gliding, gemlike creatures she saw were diatoms: microscopic algae that would determine the course of Ruth’s life. Though it wasn’t considered proper in 1913 for a girl to tromp through muddy streams, Ruth’s father nurtured her interests, encouraging her to “leave the world a better place than you found it.” Working for the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia after graduate school, Ruth aimed to measure the effects of pollution on rivers, a topic that hadn’t yet been investigated. She spent a summer collecting samples and identifying species, concluding that the key to understanding a stream’s health was biodiversity (a term that had not yet been coined). Ruth devoted her later years to organizing community action against pollution, helping to draft laws to safeguard waterways, and educating generations of young scientists. The text flows naturally from scientific terminology to lyrical storytelling, making this an excellent choice for a classroom read-aloud. Ethereal, hand-painted watercolor wash illustrations are enhanced by delicate digital ink lines. Blue, green, and brown hues evoke the murky streams, while intricate line overlays highlight the crystalline details of microscopic diatoms.
Budding naturalists will eagerly dip their toes into this one. (more information about Ruth Patrick, quote sources, timeline, selected bibliography) (Picture-book biography. 6-9)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780593620229
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Rocky Pond Books/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
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
More thoughtful, sometimes exhilarating encounters with nature.
In a new entry in the Over and Under series, a paddleboarder glimpses humpback whales leaping, floats over a populous kelp forest, and explores life on a beach and in a tide pool.
In this tale inspired by Messner’s experiences in Monterey Bay in California, a young tan-skinned narrator, along with their light-skinned mom and tan-skinned dad, observes in quiet, lyrical language sights and sounds above and below the sea’s serene surface. Switching perspectives and angles of view and often leaving the family’s red paddleboards just tiny dots bobbing on distant swells, Neal’s broad seascapes depict in precise detail bat stars and anchovies, kelp bass, and sea otters going about their business amid rocky formations and the swaying fronds of kelp…and, further out, graceful moon jellies and—thrillingly—massive whales in open waters beneath gliding pelicans and other shorebirds. After returning to the beach at day’s end to search for shells and to spot anemones and decorator crabs, the child ends with nighttime dreams of stars in the sky meeting stars in the sea. Appended nature notes on kelp and 21 other types of sealife fill in details about patterns and relationships in this rich ecosystem. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
More thoughtful, sometimes exhilarating encounters with nature. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-79720-347-8
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
