An amiable excursion, literary as well as scientific.
The creators of Serengeti: Plains of Grass (2022) profile another distinctive locale and its unique wildlife in poems and pictures.
In a prose introduction to the archipelago’s origins and ecosystem, Bulion refers to “challenges” caused by the arrival of humans and picks up the theme with closing observations, also in prose, about climate change. In between, she devotes verses in a range of forms and comments in smaller type to natural creatures and features, from quiet “La garúa,” the sea mist that “sifts across the islands’ highlands, / catching tip-top branches of giant daisy trees,” to lively “Galápagos Penguins”: “With upward chase, they make a pass / at picking from the twisting mass / of rich sardines or tasty mullets, / open bills, then (gulp) down gullets!” Along with giant tortoises and tiny phytoplankton, both marine and land iguanas pose fetchingly in Stadtlander’s rocky, unspoiled settings, while blue-footed, red-footed, and Nazca boobies turn out their webbed toes for examination, and six types of the finches that Darwin observed parade past, displaying their distinctively shaped beaks. Each animal is identified in the backmatter, and, in a set of analytical appended notes, so is the form of each poem. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An amiable excursion, literary as well as scientific. (glossary, map, organizations devoted to the Galápagos, further reading, websites, species list) (Informational poetry. 7-11)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 9781682634967
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022
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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