Brimming with cogent insights, delightful visuals, and infectious wonder.
A compendium on the science and history of sound.
Fadeeva’s work is chock-full of clear explanations, suggestions for experimenting with sound, elegant infographics, and rich vocabulary, all defined in context. Consider her lucid description of sound, translated from Russian by Traer: “Have you seen how dropping a stone into water creates waves? Similarly, sound waves travel away from the source of the sound (the ‘stone’), but instead of seeing these waves, we hear them.” This type of crystalline image helps propel a narrative that prizes curiosity and a grasp of the nuances of sound. In one spread, Fadeeva unpacks the difference between birdsong and a bird call, followed by a collagelike illustration of different species on a tree, detailing what each sounds like. Animal sounds, readers learn, include fish that “squeak, knock, honk, cluck, and chirp” underwater, where “sound also moves four times more quickly.” After pondering the 7,000 languages that humans use to communicate, the author wisely pivots, exploring how we do so without sound. She then makes an imaginative leap into the past to consider sound and music from the prehistoric era to the Middle Ages with its noisy suits of armor to the modern age of TVs and electrical appliances. She examines the harmony of orchestras and the evolution of recording sound and includes a fantastic spread about the way animals’ sounds are perceived differently all over the world. Characters are diverse.
Brimming with cogent insights, delightful visuals, and infectious wonder. (activities) (Informational picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9780802856487
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
A welcome, well-researched reflection of cultural pride in the early-reader landscape.
The fourth installment in Delacre’s early-reader series centers on the rich musical traditions of Puerto Rico, once again featuring sibling tree frogs Rafi and Rosi Coquí.
Readers learn along with Rafi and Rosi as they explore bomba, plena, and salsa in three chapters. A glossary at the beginning sets readers up well to understand the Spanish vocabulary, including accurate phoneticization for non-Spanish speakers. The stories focus on Rafi and Rosi’s relationship within a musical context. For example, in one chapter Rafi finds out that he attracts a larger audience playing his homemade güiro with Rosi’s help even though he initially excluded her: “Big brothers only.” Even when he makes mistakes, as the older brother, Rafi consoles Rosi when she is embarrassed or angry at him. In each instance, their shared joy for music and dance ultimately shines through any upsets—a valuable reflection of unity. Informational backmatter and author’s sources are extensive. Undoubtedly these will help teachers, librarians, and parents to develop Puerto Rican cultural programs, curriculum, or home activities to extend young readers’ learning. The inclusion of instructions to make one’s own homemade güiro is a thoughtful addition. The Spanish translation, also by Delacre and published simultaneously, will require a more advanced reader than the English one to recognize and comprehend contractions (“pa’bajo-pa-pa’rriba”) and relatively sophisticated vocabulary.
A welcome, well-researched reflection of cultural pride in the early-reader landscape. (Early reader. 7-9)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-89239-429-6
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Children's Book Press
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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