A feast for the eye, the inquisitive young mind, and the funny bone.
What if animals used social media? This title speculates on this question, offering readers punny posts, fun facts, and abundant animal antics!
Mosco has fashioned a tapestry of interesting tidbits and jokes about (and supposedly by) the critters themselves. The pages are a riot of color, with high-resolution photos of various creatures and funny profiles that include facts as well as mock messages from them. The male house mouse (with a microphone in his tiny paws) has posted a profile on a dating app, while the upside-down jellyfish of the Caribbean offers an explanation of its topsy-turvy life in a post on Dolphinstagram. There are several lively, lengthy text threads (hence the book’s title), like the one among the grizzly bear, gray wolf, elk, and American bison who commiserate about unexpected and unwelcome human visitors. Every animal has its own unique, illustrated story. For example, the zebra in Kenya is plagued by ticks; welcome relief comes from a flock of yellow-billed oxpeckers that land on its back and devour the pesky pests. A post with the hashtag #BFFS shows a banded mongoose who will helpfully eat bothersome ticks and bugs perched atop the back of a sleeping warthog. A male orchid bee gives Wild Thing Cologne only two stars on Llamazon, explaining that his own scent created from harvested plant chemicals works much better. This comprehensive and colorful compendium will delight young browsers.
A feast for the eye, the inquisitive young mind, and the funny bone. (index, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 17, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4263-7170-7
Page Count: 216
Publisher: National Geographic Kids
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
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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