For middle schoolers, challenging science about a perennially appealing but surprisingly complex subject.
Research meteorologist and radar expert Robin Tanamachi, who once studied tornadoes by chasing them across Midwestern plains, now lies in wait for them in the hills and forests of America’s southeast.
Writer Carson (Inside Tornados, 2010) and photographer Uhlman document the veteran storm chaser’s work and her change of focus from storms in Tornado Alley (from the Dakotas down to Texas) to an area called Dixie Alley that stretches from Louisiana to Georgia and up to Tennessee and Alabama. Chapter by chapter, they introduce the scientist and the science, including the genesis of severe storms and tornado anatomy; explain the use of weather radar and other tools; recall the effects of a record-breaking number of highly destructive tornadoes in Tennessee and Alabama in 2011; show cooperating scientists gathered in Alabama to “set a tornado net”; and describe efforts to predict tornadoes further in advance and to ensure that people react appropriately to storm warnings. There is particular attention to Tanamachi’s work with radar and husband Dan Dawson’s measurement of the sizes and shapes of raindrops. Plenty of well-captioned photos (including pictures of disasters and of the scientist as a tornado-obsessed child) break up the exposition and will add to the appeal. Carson’s description of the fourth-generation Japanese-American scientist’s work is detailed and immediate; readers might well be able to imagine themselves in her shoes. (Dawson presents white.)
For middle schoolers, challenging science about a perennially appealing but surprisingly complex subject. (glossary, research suggestions, acknowledgements, sources and bibliography, photo credits, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-544-96582-9
Page Count: 80
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hot on the heels of the well-received Leonardo da Vinci (2005) comes another agreeably chatty entry in the Giants of Science series. Here the pioneering physicist is revealed as undeniably brilliant, but also cantankerous, mean-spirited, paranoid and possibly depressive. Newton’s youth and annus mirabilis receive respectful treatment, the solitude enforced by family estrangement and then the plague seen as critical to the development of his thoughtful, methodical approach. His subsequent squabbles with the rest of the scientific community—he refrained from publishing one treatise until his rival was dead—further support the image of Newton as a scientific lone wolf. Krull’s colloquial treatment sketches Newton’s advances in clearly understandable terms without bogging the text down with detailed explanations. A final chapter on “His Impact” places him squarely in the pantheon of great thinkers, arguing that both his insistence on the scientific method and his theories of physics have informed all subsequent scientific thought. A bibliography, web site and index round out the volume; the lack of detail on the use of sources is regrettable in an otherwise solid offering for middle-grade students. (Biography. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-670-05921-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2006
This glossy, colorful title in the “I Want To Be” series has visual appeal but poor organization and a fuzzy focus, which limits its usefulness. Each double-paged layout introduces a new topic with six to eight full-color photographs and a single column of text. Topics include types of environmentalists, eco-issues, waste renewal, education, High School of Environmental Studies, environmental vocabulary, history of environmentalism, famous environmentalists, and the return of the eagle. Often the photographs have little to do with the text or are marginal to the topic. For example, a typical layout called “Some Alternative Solutions” has five snapshots superimposed on a double-page photograph of a California wind farm. The text discusses ways to develop alternative forms of energy and “encourage environmentally friendly lifestyles.” Photos include “a healer who treats a patient with alternative therapy using sound and massage,” and “the Castle,” a house built of “used tires and aluminum cans.” Elsewhere, “Did You Know . . . ” shows a dramatic photo of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, but the text provides odd facts such as “ . . . that in Saudi Arabia there are solar-powered pay phones in the desert?” Some sections seem stuck in, a two-page piece on the effects of “El Niño” or 50 postage-stamp–sized photos of endangered species. The author concludes with places to write for more information and a list of photo credits. Pretty, but little here to warrant purchase. (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-15-201862-X
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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