A spectacular celestial confrontation explodes with a lot of serious science.
Another feverish contest between astronomical biggies.
While an asteroid vs. comet matchup resulted in a major impact in the first title in this series, the contenders in this companion volume are the real heavies. A pair of red supergiants, “hundreds of times the size of our Sun” and both formidable opponents (both described with feminine pronouns), prepare to collide. Astrophysicist Kuchner describes the “battle zone” (trillions of miles and hundreds of light-years away from Earth) and the red giants’ origins, explaining nuclear fusion along the way. A discussion of helium’s role in inflating and heating these stars, turning them into “big red fluffy mammer jammers,” serves as a prematch warm-up as they accumulate massive, superheated iron balls in their centers. Suddenly…“WHOMP!” One of the stellar contenders explodes into a neutron star, or supernova. Now the contest enters its final form, and the narrator is afire: “Great galactic gobstoppers.” Kuchner devotes two pages to describing the incredible temperature of the neutron star, followed by reports of these stars’ speed, gravitational pull, mass, composition, and density. Pausing at the kinetic climax, he asks readers, “What’s your hypothesis?” before the big reveal. Schu’s bold, colorful, appropriately dramatic illustrations are strikingly beautiful, clarifying the rich explanations of astrophysics and stunning in their own right.
A spectacular celestial confrontation explodes with a lot of serious science. (more information on neutron stars and supergiants) (Informational picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: April 15, 2025
ISBN: 9781536227369
Page Count: 48
Publisher: MIT Kids Press/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
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
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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