An engaging resource for young nature enthusiasts.
Konerman’s illustrated children’s book details the ways in which mud can be helpful in the daily lives of animals all over the world.
In these colorful pages, the author discusses the benefits of having plenty of mud around when you’re a member of the animal kingdom. Several types of birds need mud in their everyday lives to help keep their nests sturdy and safe from predators. Macaws eat mud to calm their stomachs and counter poisons—they’re just one of over 200 species that have been documented engaging in geophagia, or eating mud. Turtles all over the globe use mud to protect themselves from inclement weather, whether it’s too hot or too cold. Both elephants and hippos roll in mud to cool themselves off and protect their skin (“A nice layer of mud blocks pests and parasites that itch or make elephants and hippos sick”). The text’s layout pairs prey animals with natural predators that use mud in the same way; readers learn that alligators use mud to protect their eggs, just like the flamingos they hunt. At the back of the book, each of the animals mentioned in the main text receive a dedicated paragraph containing more detailed information. The book also includes a glossary, author’s note, and labeled examples of various species’ footprints. Konerman uses repetitive text to introduce problems that animals encounter for which mud is the solution. (The seminarrative text is lyrical but contains no fictional elements.) On some pages, there are additional, mud splattered text boxes providing more fun facts about the animals (“Duck-billed platypus has a rubbery snout that can sense its prey’s tiny electrical currents in the mud”). Cataldo depicts animals in their environments in realistic illustrations, including details to help readers develop a deeper understanding of the material.
An engaging resource for young nature enthusiasts.Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9781970039092
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Web of Life
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
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