Absorbing and inspirational.
A winning profile of a stubbornly self-motivated researcher who, through decades of study, revolutionized our understanding of genetics.
Acclaimed (eventually) by the Nobel Prize Committee for making “one of the two great discoveries of our times in genetics” (the other was the structure of DNA, discovered by others), Barbara McClintock was the very model of a maverick scientist. “It begins,” Alexander writes, “with a girl who loves science,” studies biology and plays jazz banjo in college, exchanges dresses for more practical trousers, and goes on to parlay an early fascination with the chromosomes found in corn cells into a lifelong study that culminates in finding the “jumping genes” (“transposons”) that play vital roles in genetic variance between generations. The author explains McClintock’s achievements in clear, nontechnical language and, after acknowledging her death at age 90 in 1992, goes on to highlight some of the advances, from the Human Genome Project to the development of CRISPR technology, that have resulted from her work. Along with close-ups of corn and chromosomes, Santo offers gracefully composed views of McClintock addressing colleagues and welcoming racially diverse groups of students to join her for tea and brownies. Most often, however, she’s in solitary absorption, hard at work in labs and cornfields. What will remain with readers is a memorable picture of an independent woman’s life in science, as well as a clear understanding of her contributions and a vivid sense of the joy she took in making them.
Absorbing and inspirational. (timeline, glossary, source notes, bibliography, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9780063245990
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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
Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless.
Tales of a fourth grade ne’er-do-well.
It seems that young Jordan is stuck in a never-ending string of bad luck. Sure, no one’s perfect (except maybe goody-two-shoes William Feranek), but Jordan can’t seem to keep his attention focused on the task at hand. Try as he may, things always go a bit sideways, much to his educators’ chagrin. But Jordan promises himself that fourth grade will be different. As the year unfolds, it does prove to be different, but in a way Jordan couldn’t possibly have predicted. This humorous memoir perfectly captures the square-peg-in-a-round-hole feeling many kids feel and effectively heightens that feeling with comic situations and a splendid villain. Jordan’s teacher, Mrs. Fisher, makes an excellent foil, and the book’s 1970s setting allows for her cruelty to go beyond anything most contemporary readers could expect. Unfortunately, the story begins to run out of steam once Mrs. Fisher exits. Recollections spiral, losing their focus and leading to a more “then this happened” and less cause-and-effect structure. The anecdotes are all amusing and Jordan is an endearing protagonist, but the book comes dangerously close to wearing out its welcome with sheer repetitiveness. Thankfully, it ends on a high note, one pleasant and hopeful enough that readers will overlook some of the shabbier qualities. Jordan is White and Jewish while there is some diversity among his classmates; Mrs. Fisher is White.
Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless. (Memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-64723-5
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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