Engaging natural science for the very young.
An orphaned duckling finds the perfect parents.
Salas spins a spare, credible backstory for a 2019 discovery by researchers of a pair of nesting loons in Wisconsin and their surprising baby—a mallard duckling. Their own young perhaps eaten by predators, the loons focus on a lone duck hatchling nearby and, over the course of the summer, provide the necessities: food and protection. Neonakis’ straightforward, clean-lined illustrations offer a clear look at loons and the duckling: their distinguishing coloring and body shapes. The differences in the expected behavior of ducklings versus loon chicks are emphasized in the simple text and put readers in the role of observers. Loon chicks “take food from their parents,” while mallards don’t, and mallards don’t dive for their food, “but Duckling does.” While young loons typically hide upon seeing strange animals (loons are territorial, backmatter explains), Duckling makes a racket in one of the amusingly incongruous moments. Loon babies ride on the back of either parent while young, and the growing Duckling, its down turning to more substantial feathers, riding on a loon’s back is sweetly funny. Backmatter expands the comparison of loon and mallard characteristics and behaviors. Salas offers a philosophical note about the inconclusive ending—loons and ducks migrate as the seasons turn, and it’s not known what happened next—but leaves the thought that both the duckling and loon parents created a family together. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Engaging natural science for the very young. (bibliography, further reading) (Informational picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: March 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-72844-299-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
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
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