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OLD ENOUGH TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Name: OLD ENOUGH TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Author: Rebecca Hui
ISBN: 9781419765995

BE INSPIRED BY REAL-LIFE CHILDREN BUILDING A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

From the Changemakers series

by Rebecca Hui ; illustrated by Anneli Bray ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 28, 2023

Driven, resourceful kids could be galvanized by these stories.

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Informative and inspiring accounts of ambitious world-improving projects initiated by children.

Devoting two spreads to each child, Hui describes the organizations founded by 12 young social entrepreneurs of varying ethnicities and from all over the world; one child is a wheelchair user. They tackle fast fashion, period poverty, paper waste, and single-use straws and work toward green energy, cleaner oceans, sustainable farming, disability access, and accessible health care. “Supporting women and girls through art and education,” “redistributing food destined for landfills,” and “promoting ocean education” are others’ aims. Tidbits about the impacts of harmful practices and situations are seeded across the bright, detailed illustrations, which are naïve and engaging. In the background, racially diverse, cheerful kids keep busy; several use wheelchairs, and some wear hijab. As in Old Enough To Save the Planet (2021), the projects have a positive though naturally limited impact. Ten brief hints on how to be a social entrepreneur and 10 more on being a responsible consumer provide goals perhaps more accessible to ordinary readers. A map showing the young people’s countries of origin and acknowledgment that it isn’t all on individuals to make a difference would have been welcome, but a dozen websites for further exploration are a useful addition. Younger readers might need help with vocabulary (and small print). (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Driven, resourceful kids could be galvanized by these stories. (Informational picture book. 6-10)

Pub Date: March 28, 2023

ISBN: 9781419765995

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Magic Cat

Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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1001 BEES

by Joanna Rzezak ; illustrated by Joanna Rzezak ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 18, 2021

Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
1001 BIRDS
by Joanna Rzezak ; illustrated by Joanna Rzezak

- BOOK REVIEW
1001 ANTS
by Joanna Rzezak ; illustrated by Joanna Rzezak

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I AM GRAVITY

by Henry Herz ; illustrated by Mercè López ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 15, 2024

An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe.

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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)