An informative and engaging introduction to an animal known as the old man of the sea.
In the ocean off the coast of southern California, a sea otter’s life unfolds.
In this latest installment of the Secret Life series, Pringle and Garchinsky follow the familiar, successful pattern of their previous books, looking closely at an individual animal to learn about the habits and habitat of the species in general. Here, a sea otter named Lutris (after her scientific name) rests, feeds, escapes a predatory shark, bears and raises a pup, and survives a storm. The storyline is straightforward, but there are suspenseful moments followed by relief and calm. The narrative begins and ends with a comfortable nap in the rocking sea waves. The rich, descriptive language would be a pleasure to read aloud. Some specialized vocabulary is italicized, defined in context and in a closing glossary. Digitally created impressionistic illustrations, set full-bleed, mostly on double-page spreads, support the story beautifully and would show well to a small group. There are close-ups of Lutris wielding a stone as a tool and landscapes that include other creatures who share her world, kelp, waves, and coastal mountains. In an afterword aimed at adults, Pringle offers further details about this keystone species once threatened with extinction. Pair with Jonathan London and Meilo So’s Otters Love To Play (2016) to introduce children to sea otters’ land-dwelling cousins. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An informative and engaging introduction to an animal known as the old man of the sea. (Informational picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: April 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-63592-325-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Wordsong/Astra Books for Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
An arguable error of omission and definite errors of commission sink this otherwise attractive effort.
A look at the unique ways that 11 globe-spanning animal species construct their homes.
Each creature garners two double-page spreads, which Cherrix enlivens with compelling and at-times jaw-dropping facts. The trapdoor spider constructs a hidden burrow door from spider silk. Sticky threads, fanning from the entrance, vibrate “like a silent doorbell” when walked upon by unwitting insect prey. Prairie dogs expertly dig communal burrows with designated chambers for “sleeping, eating, and pooping.” The largest recorded “town” occupied “25,000 miles and housed as many as 400 million prairie dogs!” Female ants are “industrious insects” who can remove more than a ton of dirt from their colony in a year. Cathedral termites use dirt and saliva to construct solar-cooled towers 30 feet high. Sasaki’s lively pictures borrow stylistically from the animal compendiums of mid-20th-century children’s lit; endpapers and display type elegantly suggest the blues of cyanotypes and architectural blueprints. Jarringly, the lead spread cheerfully extols the prowess of the corals of the Great Barrier Reef, “the world’s largest living structure,” while ignoring its accelerating, human-abetted destruction. Calamitously, the honeybee hive is incorrectly depicted as a paper-wasps’ nest, and the text falsely states that chewed beeswax “hardens into glue to shape the hive.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An arguable error of omission and definite errors of commission sink this otherwise attractive effort. (selected sources) (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-5625-9
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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