Another creative, informative, and entertaining STEM romp from a winning team.
An unforgettable chance to “never think about snot or pee or doughnuts the same way again.”
The creators responsible for The Museum of Odd Body Leftovers (2022) offer insights into glands, those often unacknowledged cells and organs responsible for everything from sleep to hunger and beyond. Poliquin and Hanmer present the human body as a sprawling factory populated by tiny hard-hatted boss and deputy glands, who offer a tour. Their spiel produces a lot of text in small type, but it’s filled with humor, rewarding persistent readers. Poliquin helpfully explains the two types of glands, endocrine (or messengers) and exocrine (or “goop” glands). Along the way, she and Hanmer employ enjoyably gross and downright clever visual metaphors: Our nasal glands are described as the “snot shower,” a gauge measures saliva levels (from “dry” to “saliva tsunami”), and workers on an assembly line, receiving messages from the hypothalamus, are diligently portrayed sorting and sending out the right hormones. Fresh, unpretentious, and often funny language (“strange lumps and squeezy passages”) accurately conveys gland functions. Even the most complicated processes—for instance, how the autonomic nervous system responds to panic-inducing situations—get clear and thorough explanations. Spotting the rude graffiti left by gleefully disruptive concealed germs adds extra pizzazz, especially when pathogens attempt a takeover of the digestion department. Hints at future volumes raise hopes of more in this excellent educational series.
Another creative, informative, and entertaining STEM romp from a winning team. (glossary, further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781778400988
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Greystone Kids
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.
This book is buzzing with trivia.
Follow a swarm of bees as they leave a beekeeper’s apiary in search of a new home. As the scout bees traverse the fields, readers are provided with a potpourri of facts and statements about bees. The information is scattered—much like the scout bees—and as a result, both the nominal plot and informational content are tissue-thin. There are some interesting facts throughout the book, but many pieces of trivia are too, well trivial, to prove useful. For example, as the bees travel, readers learn that “onion flowers are round and fluffy” and “fennel is a plant that is used in cooking.” Other facts are oversimplified and as a result are not accurate. For example, monofloral honey is defined as “made by bees who visit just one kind of flower” with no acknowledgment of the fact that bees may range widely, and swarm activity is described as a springtime event, when it can also occur in summer and early fall. The information in the book, such as species identification and measurement units, is directed toward British readers. The flat, thin-lined artwork does little to enhance the story, but an “I spy” game challenging readers to find a specific bee throughout is amusing.
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere. (Informational picture book. 8-10)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-500-65265-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A variety show brimming with esoteric and practical information.
Two youngsters embark on a journey peppered with history, trivia, and skits while teaching money lessons.
Meet Mellody and John, the young stars of this currency showcase. Their very first dialogue offers a taste of the intriguing information to come, from the ancient Mayans’ use of cacao beans as payment to the origins of the piggy bank. The book offers a chronologically and geographically broad timeline of the history of money, encompassing the past 3.9 billion years (starting with meteorite crashes that scattered metals—“the very first bank deposit”) and referencing practices across five continents. Readers will find themselves eagerly sharing the facts gleaned here, including the centuries-old origins of terms and expressions still used today. Mellody and John’s fun banter crucially reflects their experiences with money, such as their families’ differing attitudes toward allowances. Both are savers as well as givers, sharing stories about giving to charity. In one especially entertaining section, a cat and a bunny converse in money-related catchphrases that are separately defined at the bottom of each page. Stevens’ watercolors are appropriately realistic and appealing, whether depicting Mellody’s pretend bank or Elizabeth II’s butler ironing a 10-pound note. Messages about money’s use as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself, ensure that readers will think about their own purposes for their savings. Mellody and John are Black.
A variety show brimming with esoteric and practical information. (index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781536224719
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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