A solid addition to any classroom library, with the added bonus of a cast that’s wholly people of color. (Early reader. 6-9)
This entry in the Makers Make It Work series elucidates bee biology and beekeeping within an easy-to-read multicultural story.
While searching for the perfect tree to build their treehouse, Arun and his little sister, Keya, stumble upon a damaged feral bees’ nest in an oak. They turn to Dr. Chen, a neighbor who has beehives in her backyard and sells honey at the farmers market. Arun, Keya, and Dr. Chen work together to relocate the bees to another hive and then to harvest and bottle the honey from the original comb. In the end, Arun reclaims the tree for their treehouse and crowns his sister “Queen Bee.” The text is a bit heavy-handed here and there: “Arun checked with his parents first. When their dad said yes, they raced to Dr. Chen’s house.” While these didactic intrusions are well-meant, they weigh down the text, making the story less lively and zippy than the title and the illustrations by Ceolin would suggest. Still, the scientific information contained in both the narrative and supplementary inserts throughout, as well as the suggested “maker” activity in the backmatter (planting a bee-friendly garden), is top-notch. Notably, the feral hive is accurately depicted—a rarity. Arun and Keya’s family seem to be South Asian, and Dr. Chen is probably Chinese. Simultaneously publishing are series companions The Lost and Found Weekend, about sewing; Rocket Rivals , about rocketry; and Slime King, about chemistry.
A solid addition to any classroom library, with the added bonus of a cast that’s wholly people of color. (Early reader. 6-9)Pub Date: April 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-63592-113-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kane Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book.
Ada Twist’s incessant stream of questions leads to answers that help solve a neighborhood crisis.
Ada conducts experiments at home to answer questions such as, why does Mom’s coffee smell stronger than Dad’s coffee? Each answer leads to another question, another hypothesis, and another experiment, which is how she goes from collecting data on backyard birds for a citizen-science project to helping Rosie Revere figure out how to get her uncle Ned down from the sky, where his helium-filled “perilous pants” are keeping him afloat. The Questioneers—Rosie the engineer, Iggy Peck the architect, and Ada the scientist—work together, asking questions like scientists. Armed with knowledge (of molecules and air pressure, force and temperature) but more importantly, with curiosity, Ada works out a solution. Ada is a recognizable, three-dimensional girl in this delightfully silly chapter book: tirelessly curious and determined yet easily excited and still learning to express herself. If science concepts aren’t completely clear in this romp, relationships and emotions certainly are. In playful full- and half-page illustrations that break up the text, Ada is black with Afro-textured hair; Rosie and Iggy are white. A closing section on citizen science may inspire readers to get involved in science too; on the other hand, the “Ode to a Gas!” may just puzzle them. Other backmatter topics include the importance of bird study and the threat palm-oil use poses to rainforests.
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3422-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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