A valuable look at the roles farmers play in sustaining the lifestyles people enjoy.
From produce and bread to clothing and sweets, the favorite items that farmers bring to tables and homes.
Spot art of diverse families eating table-ready foods are combined with large-scale scenes of farms with people, machinery, and animals producing foods like wheat to make bread, milk for cereal, and fruits and vegetables—an effective juxtaposition of the consumers and producers of ingredients and products people use daily. Peanut butter, rice, wool sweaters and socks, and maple syrup are all items for which readers are encouraged to “thank a farmer.” Farmers, in turn, are thankful for the natural forces and creatures that make their farms work, from soil and sun to bees and trees. The text alternates between a simple sentence indicating an item to thank a farmer for (“berries and / cherries in your bowl”) and a lyrical description of the work that goes into that particular item (“Pinch. / Pluck. / Pull. / Fill the punnet”). Mikai’s warm, textured art is at its strongest here, complementing the more leisurely text with fully detailed scenes that give a strong sense of the realities of labor and the interconnectedness of people at different points in the food production chain. A full spread of backmatter offers more information about the farming methods featured in the book. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A valuable look at the roles farmers play in sustaining the lifestyles people enjoy. (further reading, further viewing, websites) (Informational picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781324015796
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Norton Young Readers
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
Erupt into applause for this picture book of the first magma-tude.
A deceptively simple, visually appealing, comprehensive explanation of volcanoes.
Gibbons packs an impressive number of facts into this browsable nonfiction picture book. The text begins with the awe of a volcanic eruption: “The ground begins to rumble…ash, hot lava and rock, and gases shoot up into the air.” Diagrams of the Earth’s structural layers—inner and outer core, mantle, and crust—undergird a discussion about why volcanoes occur. Simple maps of the Earth’s seven major tectonic plates show where volcanoes are likeliest to develop. Other spreads with bright, clearly labeled illustrations cover intriguing subtopics: four types of volcanoes and how they erupt; underwater volcanoes; well-known volcanoes and historic volcanic eruptions around the world; how to be safe in the vicinity of a volcano; and the work of scientists studying volcanoes and helping to predict eruptions. A page of eight facts about volcanoes wraps things up. The straightforward, concise prose will be easy for young readers to follow. As always, Gibbons manages to present a great deal of information in a compact form.
Erupt into applause for this picture book of the first magma-tude. (Nonfiction picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4569-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
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
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