Enthusiasm will carry readers to a buzzing bounty of information.
Young Akeem works with his father to tend the beehives on their farm.
Addressing readers directly in sequential panels, Akeem observes the ins and outs of a year in beekeeping. A hive that died over the winter becomes the site of new activity when a replacement package arrives in the mail. Together, Akeem and his dad (both Black, the former with locs and the latter bald and bearded) put on their bee suits and install the box of bees and their queen in the hive. As the seasons turn, readers learn about workers, drones, and queens, pollination and the making of honey, and more. The father-and-son writing team know their bees, and their fictional avatars experience some of the harsher realities of beekeeping, such as “seasonal dearth,” a neighboring colony robbing the bees of their honey, and parasitic varroa mites. Some of the details have clearly been simplified for the sake of concision and narrative clarity, but before Akeem’s year is out, readers will have learned the basic elements of beekeeping. Johnson’s graphic presentation is both accurate and kid-friendly—a particularly apt touch is the inclusion of bee dialogue in white-on-black speech bubbles, though information is occasionally awkwardly sequenced. Backmatter includes four pages of photo-illustrated notes that introduce the real-life Sankofa Farms in North Carolina, a two-page glossary, and an index.
Enthusiasm will carry readers to a buzzing bounty of information. (Graphic nonfiction. 7-11)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781635866094
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Storey Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 29, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
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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