Moving and, as a way of connecting today’s readers to significant moments of the past, effective.
A gallery of stately trees around the world associated with times and events both historic and prehistoric.
Along with showing an adept hand at portraying botanical detail and a sense of individual character for each of these 21 trees, Đóm Đóm underscores their significance and longevity by posing historical figures and children of eras past and present in or around them—from the Buddha sitting with two young adherents, one light-skinned, one tan-skinned, beneath the “Bodhi Tree” where he found enlightenment to Abraham Lincoln next to a honey locust near the Gettysburg battlefield, visitors contemplating a Hiroshima “survivor tree,” and a lone Callery pear in New York that weathered the fall of the World Trade Center. Each tree is paired with an inconspicuous identifying caption and, more prominently, poetic reflections from Van Cleave: “Our roots run deep— / they grip history, / a restless forever.” Though the more speculative ages the author assigns to older “witnesses” may be exaggerated (80,000 years for the clonal aspen Pando takes no account of intervening glaciation, for instance), he does admit that Newton’s apple tree is actually a descendant of the original. To a world map showing each witness tree’s location he also attaches briefer notes on 11 more and, sadly, lists several renowned ones that have died or been destroyed in recent years. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Moving and, as a way of connecting today’s readers to significant moments of the past, effective. (afterword, timeline, bibliography) (Informational picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: May 9, 2023
ISBN: 9781638191254
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Bushel & Peck Books
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An exuberant portrayal of a girl with hearing restrictions reaching for the stars.
Astrid, a spunky, smart California third grader, has great aspirations.
She will become “the first astronaut with hearing aids,” a possibility that is treated very naturally within this story, the first in a new chapter book series. Joining the Shooting Stars, an after-school club devoted to all things space, has long been part of Astrid’s “Astronomically Grand Plan.” Though Astrid wants to go to space camp, it’s expensive, but a scholarship is available for the Shooting Stars student who earns the most points for completing the STEM-oriented Astro Missions. She discovers another problem when she realizes that her best friend, Hallie, is more interested in art than in STEM and joins the Petite Picassos club. How can Astrid navigate Shooting Stars without her BFF, especially when she and her teammate Veejay don’t start out well? Club teacher Ms. Ruiz stresses creativity and partnership, and math and science enthusiasts will be attracted to this book, but the real emphasis is on relationships. Astrid must befriend Hallie again after voicing her disappointment with her interests and learn to be a good teammate. Astrid is likable, and her story, told in first person, realistically explores her hearing issues, her initial problem-solving failures, and her successes. Black-and-white illustrations depict Astrid (wearing her hearing aids) and her family as light-skinned, though other students appear to be racially diverse, and Hallie is cued as Asian.
An exuberant portrayal of a girl with hearing restrictions reaching for the stars. (Chapter book. 7-10)Pub Date: July 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8148-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
The story feels a bit contrived, but Ada will be a welcome addition to the small circle of science-loving girls in the...
Using science and technology, third-grader Ada Lace kicks off her new series by solving a mystery even with her leg in a cast.
Temporarily housebound after a badly executed bungee jump, Ada uses binoculars to document the ecosystem of her new neighborhood in San Francisco. She records her observations in a field journal, a project that intrigues new friend Nina, who lives nearby. When they see that Ms. Reed’s dog, Marguerite, is missing, they leap to the conclusion that it has been stolen. Nina does the legwork and Ada provides the technology for their search for the dognapper. Story-crafting takes a back seat to scene-setting in this series kickoff that introduces the major players. As part of the series formula, science topics and gadgetry are integrated into the stories and further explained in a “Behind the Science” afterword. This installment incorporates drones, a wireless camera, gecko gloves, and the Turing test as well as the concept of an ecosystem. There are no ethnic indicators in the text, but the illustrations reveal that Ada, her family, and bratty neighbor Milton are white; Nina appears to be Southeast Asian; and Mr. Peebles, an inventor who lives nearby, is black.
The story feels a bit contrived, but Ada will be a welcome addition to the small circle of science-loving girls in the chapter-book world. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-8599-9
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
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