Empowering.
Two children discover that a love of nature can change lives.
Inherently a loner with a scientific bent of mind and a gift for writing, 11-year-old Sammie loves to explore the Field, a vacant plot of land near her New England home. Although she promised her working mother she wouldn’t go there alone, she does anyway, bringing her journal (whose pages are included effectively in the story) to record and draw the flora and fauna. One day, she encounters Bram, a boy about her age, standing in the Field with a camera. Protective, Sammie demands to know what he’s doing there, and she’s skeptical and defensive when he says he goes there every day, too, and asks about her notebook. After this rocky start, the two team up to explore Winghaven, the name they decide to give the land. They meet graduate student Pete, who’s doing an insect study, and he encourages them to participate in an Audubon Society science symposium. The new friends decide to present the project they’ve been working on—counting monarch butterfly caterpillars. This story contains genuine tension (a threat to Winghaven’s existence), as well as accurate scientific information about the plants, birds, and insects of a New England landscape; it also includes nuanced characterization and relatable themes, such as a storyline about a school bully. Perhaps most importantly, though, the ending is immensely satisfying and encouraging for readers. Characters read white.
Empowering. (map, notes for young naturalists) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 14, 2024
ISBN: 9781536218305
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Walker US/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
Not the most satisfying wrap-up, but it’s always good to spend time in the world of this series.
Beloved gorilla Ivan becomes a father to rambunctious twins in this finale to a quartet that began with 2012’s Newbery Award–winning The One and Only Ivan.
Life hasn’t always been easy for silverback gorilla Ivan, who’s spent most of his life being mistreated in captivity. Now he’s living in a wildlife sanctuary, but he still gets to see his two best friends. Young elephant Ruby lives in the grassy habitat next door, and former stray dog Bob has a home with one of the zookeepers. All three were rescued from the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. Ivan’s expanded world includes fellow gorilla Kinyani—the two are about to become parents, and Ivan is revisiting the traumas of his past in light of what he wants the twins to know. When the subject inevitably comes up, Applegate’s trust and respect for readers is evident. She doesn’t shy away from hard truths as Ivan wrestles with the fact that poachers killed his family. Readers will need the context provided by knowledge of the earlier books to feel the full emotional impact of this story. The rushed ending unfortunately falls flat, detracting from the central message that a complex life can still contain hope. Final art not seen.
Not the most satisfying wrap-up, but it’s always good to spend time in the world of this series. (gorilla games, glossary, author’s note) (Verse fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9780063221123
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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