Though engagingly conveyed, this slight account grievously lacks context.
A rivalry between Thomas Jefferson and a French naturalist is detailed in this lengthy picture book.
In Rockliff’s rollicking tale, Jefferson jots down numbers everywhere he goes. He reads a new book by a famous Frenchman named Buffon, claiming that “America [is] a terrible, miserable, cold, damp place where nothing good could grow” and animals are unnaturally small. Jefferson is mystified by these claims from a person who has never even been to America, and he sets out to prove him wrong. Amid the Revolutionary War, Jefferson finds time to compile enough numbers for a book, Notes on the State of Virginia. When he is asked to represent the new United States in France, Jefferson hopes to have his book presented to Buffon, but “the famous Frenchman had already made up his mind.” Jefferson compiles more numbers—measurements of animals small and large—and finally has a rotting moose carcass sent to Buffon. Anticlimactically, Buffon dies without acknowledging the huge animal. Schindler’s finely detailed illustrations are well suited to the subject and impress with period detail; they include one background character of color among the otherwise all-white cast. Children obsessed with the early republic and with science may find this obscure tale entertaining, but adults familiar with Jefferson’s writings and biography will hesitate to share this frivolous anecdote with children, as it ignores his legacy of racism and slavery even in the backmatter notes, which span six pages.
Though engagingly conveyed, this slight account grievously lacks context. (sources) (Informational picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9410-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
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
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