Well meant but somewhat confusing.
Communities come in all sizes.
The book spotlights children from neighborhoods around the world. Along with a brief summary, each entry contains a simplified map of important locations in the child’s life. An entry devoted to Rejan, a young girl living in Cairo, Egypt, features a map that includes her home, her mosque, her school, and the main road near the Nile. Another spread, devoted to Moana, a boy who lives on Tongareva in the Cook Islands, includes a map that highlights the child’s church, his home, a nearby solar farm, and the wharf where Moana is learning to fish. Each map includes a compass, a legend, and a scale bar that uses meters as the only measurement of distance. Graphically, the illustrations are reminiscent of the poster arts program of the WPA, but the style feels stagnant, and the oversize landmarks and the metric measurements make distances feel confusing. The introduction and the author’s note both mention that the stories are based on interviews with real children, but neither explains whether the names have been changed or how accurate the accounts are or if they are a fictional conglomeration of stories told to the author. The book may attract readers with an interest in geography or storytellers, but educators and caregivers should prepare to help with supplemental research support.
Well meant but somewhat confusing. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5253-0137-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
Go adventuring with a better guide.
Find something to do in every state in the U.S.A.!
This guide highlights a location of interest within each of the states, therefore excluding Washington, D.C., and the territories. Trivia about each location is scattered across crisply rendered landscapes that background each state’s double-page spread while diminutive, diverse characters populate the scenes. Befitting the title, one “adventure” is presented per state, such as shrimping in Louisiana’s bayous, snowshoeing in Connecticut, or celebrating the Fourth of July in Boston. While some are stereotypical gimmes (surfing in California), others have the virtue of novelty, at least for this audience, such as viewing the sandhill crane migration in Nebraska. Within this thematic unity, some details go astray, and readers may find themselves searching in vain for animals mentioned. The trivia is plentiful but may be misleading, vague, or incorrect. Information about the Native American peoples of the area is often included, but its brevity—especially regarding sacred locations—means readers are floundering without sufficient context. The same is true for many of the facts that relate directly to expansion and colonialism, such as the unexplained near extinction of bison. Describing the genealogical oral history of South Carolina’s Gullah community as “spin[ning] tales” is equally brusque and offensive. The book tries to do a lot, but it is more style than substance, which may leave readers bored, confused, slightly annoyed—or all three. (This book was reviewed digitally with 12.2-by-20.2-inch double-page spreads viewed at 80% of actual size.)
Go adventuring with a better guide. (tips on local adventuring, index) (Nonfiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7112-5445-9
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Challenges galore for young eco-crusaders, presented in an inventive format.
A gallery of civilization-threatening “modern monsters,” from Smogosaurus and the forest-chewing Logre to Acid Rain Spirits and Nuclear Jinns.
These menaces are modeled on or at least inspired by creatures from pop culture or world folklore—Trash Kong, for instance, is joined by the Noisybird, loosely related to the similarly nine-headed Jiu Tou Niao of Chinese tradition, and the E-Waste Golem. Each one steps up in turn to boast of its destructive habits and potential and comes with an inset “Monster Card” featuring arrays of icons (interpreted on a key that can be folded out for ready reference) indicating activities that will promote, or hinder, further damage to our planet. The monsters are all created or (more commonly) abetted by human agency, and though many acknowledge anxiously that efforts are being made to check their depredations, Rohde urgently makes the case at beginning and end that there is still plenty of work to be done. The monsters themselves, which are largely rendered as diaphanous or semi-abstract shapes in various transparent hues with stylized, geometric faces, come across as more pretty than dangerous looking, and the fold-out world “Monster Map” at the end conveys a misleading impression that they are mostly localized threats rather than ubiquitous ones. Still, even younger readers will understand that each poses a real danger.
Challenges galore for young eco-crusaders, presented in an inventive format. (glossary, source list, index) (Informational picture book. 8-10)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-912920-22-8
Page Count: 60
Publisher: What on Earth!
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
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