LET’S TRY IT OUT WITH TOWERS AND BRIDGES

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LET’S TRY IT OUT WITH TOWERS AND BRIDGES

Name: LET’S TRY IT OUT WITH TOWERS AND BRIDGES
Author: Seymour Simon
ISBN: 0-689-82923-X

by Seymour Simon & illustrated by Doug Cushman & by Nicole Fauteux ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2003

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For the future engineer, architect, or construction work, this latest in the Let’s Try It Out series may fuel her interest, or spark a new one. Various building, tower, and bridge designs familiar to children are introduced as readers explore the way they are constructed to withstand wind, snow, and rain. Activities emphasize the use of the scientific method and include making a wooden-block pyramid, a tower with clay foundation, and experimenting with arched or folded paper bridges. Beginning and end notes for parents, teachers, and caregivers provide creative suggestions in using the activities with young children. Cushman’s artwork is delightful, seamlessly illustrating both the building examples used in the text, and the children who are modeling the activities. The children are reminiscent of the Fisher-Price Little People, with their expressive, pudgy faces and their brightly colored clothing. They are also representative of several different cultures. A wonderful resource for encouraging imaginative and educational play in children. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: May 1, 2003

ISBN: 0-689-82923-X

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2003

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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CLIMATE ACTION
by Seymour Simon

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DINOSAURS
by Seymour Simon

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INSECTS
by Seymour Simon

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BUTT OR FACE?

by Kari Lavelle ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 11, 2023

A gleeful game for budding naturalists.

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Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.

In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: July 11, 2023

ISBN: 9781728271170

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore

Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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ODE TO GRAPEFRUIT
by Kari Lavelle ; illustrated by Bryan Collier

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WE MOVE THE WORLD
by Kari Lavelle ; illustrated by Nabi H. Ali

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THE WATER PRINCESS

by Susan Verde ; illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2016

Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of...

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An international story tackles a serious global issue with Reynolds’ characteristic visual whimsy.

Gie Gie—aka Princess Gie Gie—lives with her parents in Burkina Faso. In her kingdom under “the African sky, so wild and so close,” she can tame wild dogs with her song and make grass sway, but despite grand attempts, she can neither bring the water closer to home nor make it clean. French words such as “maintenant!” (now!) and “maman” (mother) and local color like the karite tree and shea nuts place the story in a French-speaking African country. Every morning, Gie Gie and her mother perch rings of cloth and large clay pots on their heads and walk miles to the nearest well to fetch murky, brown water. The story is inspired by model Georgie Badiel, who founded the Georgie Badiel Foundation to make clean water accessible to West Africans. The details in Reynolds’ expressive illustrations highlight the beauty of the West African landscape and of Princess Gie Gie, with her cornrowed and beaded hair, but will also help readers understand that everyone needs clean water—from the children of Burkina Faso to the children of Flint, Michigan.

Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of potable water. (Picture book. 5-8)