A welcome addition to the author’s extensive nature shelf.
Pringle continues his Strange and Wonderful series with an appreciation of wolves.
Nearly 40 years ago, Pringle published Wolfman (1983), a “career biography” of L. David Mech, a wildlife biologist who had, at the time, been studying wolves for 25 years. Here, the prolific science writer writes about the wolves themselves, dedicating his book to Mech, still a working scientist, who vetted both text and illustrations. Skillfully, the author draws young readers in by inviting them to howl like wolves. He then proceeds to distinguish different species, explain how they are like and different from dogs, and explore their physical and social attributes and behaviors. Finally, he considers human attitudes toward wolves throughout history and celebrates the more recent protections that have restored wolves to some of their one-time habitats. Though not long, the text is relatively dense and informative, set directly on Henderson’s appealing watercolor and pencil illustrations. These range from scenes of wolves hunting to family close-ups to a clearly labeled diagram of a wolf’s skull, emphasizing the teeth that make them such powerful carnivores. The few pictured humans are racially diverse; also pictured are wolf-related objects from various cultures throughout history. Bolded words are defined in context and in an appended glossary. Print and internet resources and an index add to the utility of this introduction. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A welcome addition to the author’s extensive nature shelf. (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Nov. 22, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-63592-327-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Astra Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
A gleeful game for budding naturalists.
Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.
In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781728271170
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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