Accurate natural history simply and charismatically presented.
A ruby-throated hummingbird chronicles its first full year of life.
This latest addition to the series of first-person nature diaries that began with My Awesome Summer by P. Mantis (2017) introduces the ruby-throated hummingbird, familiar to residents of the East Coast and Midwest, where they summer, and of Mexico and Central America, where they winter. The front endpapers map the ruby-throated species’ range, show some western hummingbirds, and present some facts including the nest-building process. This slightly advanced scientific text sets the stage for Ruby T.’s personal story. Dates head entries of one or two sentences, simple enough for fledgling readers. Meisel’s illustrations augment the storytelling. The title page includes a picture of Ruby T.’s mother on her nest; a page turn reveals just the tip of a beak poking out of a cracked egg. But soon, Ruby T. is flying “really fast!” Spread by spread the pacing reflects the bird’s experience, including speedy growth and challenging migrations. Short words relating to the bird’s actions sit directly on these paintings (“CHASE”; “ZOOM”). Ruby T. often enjoys a hummingbird feeder—probably the way most readers will encounter this species. There are quarrels, communal feeding, and preparations for the big trip. Ruby T. winters in a different environment. When spring comes, his newly red throat reveals that he’s male. The story winds up neatly when he meets a potential mate after his return.
Accurate natural history simply and charismatically presented. (sources, recommended reading, further information) (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4322-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
A lyrical and educational look at the water cycle.
Through many types of weather and the different seasons, water tells readers about its many forms.
“Sometimes I’m the rain cloud / and sometimes I’m the rain.” Water can make rainbows and can appear to be different colors. Water is a waterfall, a wave, an ocean swell, a frozen pond, the snow on your nose, a cloud, frost, a comet, a part of you. Throughout, Paterson’s rhyming verses evoke images of their own: “Soon the summer sun is back / and warms me with its rays. / I rise in rumbling thunderheads / like castles in the haze,” though at times word order seems to have been chosen for rhyme rather than meaning (“In fall I sink into a fog / and blanket chilly fields, / with pumpkins touched by morning frost / the harvest season yields”). Backmatter includes a diagram of the water cycle that introduces and describes each step with solid vocabulary, including “Collection” as a step in the process; “The Science Behind the Poetry,” which unpacks some of the poetic language and phrases; some water activities and explorations; conservation tips; and a list of other books from the publisher about water. Paterson’s full- and double-page–spread illustrations are just as magical as his verse, showing water in its many forms from afar and close up. Few people appear on his pages, but the vast majority of those are people of color.
A lyrical and educational look at the water cycle. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-58469-615-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dawn Publications
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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