SKULLS BY SIMON WINCHESTER

Name: SKULLS BY SIMON WINCHESTER
Author: Simon Winchester

by Simon Winchester & photographed by Nick Mann & developed by TouchPress ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 13, 2011

Challenging reading for younger audiences, at least in its more academic passages, but dazzling visuals and ingenious...

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Science meets art, and outstanding page and software design put this meaty survey of vertebrate frontage on the top shelf.

Winchester contributes 12 essays of diverse tone and topic, from a technical description of a skull’s component parts to a short history of skulls in art, a scornful blast at phrenology and a bemused portrait of renowned skull collector Alan Dudley. They are solid enough, but the stars of the show are the illustrations. Hundreds of animal headpieces, drawn largely from Dudley’s huge collection and photographed with startling clarity, float on all-black backgrounds and can be viewed either in tandem with the accompanying narrative or individually full screen. Each skull will turn (even spin) with a touch to reveal every side, and for viewers able either to cross their eyes or lay hands on a stereoscope there are two 3-D options as well. The images can all also be seen in a separate interactive gallery, in which users can select specimens to place side by side, download detailed identifications of each skull’s original owner and (for many) listen to a recorded comment from Dudley. Further bells and whistles include an internal search function, a choice of black text on white in portrait mode or the reverse in landscape mode and also a complete, sonorous audio reading by the author.

Challenging reading for younger audiences, at least in its more academic passages, but dazzling visuals and ingenious digital enhancements (not to mention the topic itself) more than compensate. (iPad informational app. 12-18, adult)

Pub Date: Dec. 13, 2011

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: TouchPress

Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2012

- BOOK REVIEW
WHEN THE SKY BREAKS
by Simon Winchester

- BOOK REVIEW
THE DAY THE WORLD EXPLODED
by Simon Winchester & adapted by Dwight Jon Zimmerman

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WHEN YOU REACH ME

by Rebecca Stead ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 14, 2009

Some might guess at the baffling, heart-pounding conclusion, but when all the sidewalk characters from Miranda’s Manhattan...

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When Miranda’s best friend Sal gets punched by a strange kid, he abruptly stops speaking to her; then oddly prescient letters start arriving.

They ask for her help, saying, “I'm coming to save your friend's life, and my own.” Readers will immediately connect with Miranda’s fluid first-person narration, a mix of Manhattan street smarts and pre-teen innocence. She addresses the letter writer and recounts the weird events of her sixth-grade year, hoping to make sense of the crumpled notes. Miranda’s crystalline picture of her urban landscape will resonate with city teens and intrigue suburban kids. As the letters keep coming, Miranda clings to her favorite book, A Wrinkle in Time, and discusses time travel with Marcus, the nice, nerdy boy who punched Sal. Keen readers will notice Stead toying with time from the start, as Miranda writes in the present about past events that will determine her future.

Some might guess at the baffling, heart-pounding conclusion, but when all the sidewalk characters from Miranda’s Manhattan world converge amid mind-blowing revelations and cunning details, teen readers will circle back to the beginning and say, “Wow...cool.” (Fiction. 12 & up)