A fine way for budding marine biologists to get their feet wet while staying dry.
A Caribbean coral reef is home to a remarkable variety of sea creatures you might meet were you to swim there.
Munro, who most recently introduced her young readers to Rodent Rascals (2018), now invites them to dive into a coral reef, like those she’s visited, to meet some of its inhabitants, shown at their actual sizes. The conceit of this catalog is clever. A labeled diagram in the backmatter reveals that this is a mural, cut up into individual spreads. One, a double gatefold, accommodates a major portion of the reef shark. Each spread includes a label or labels and paragraphs of interesting information about the major creatures shown. This may include something distinctive about its habits (spotted cleaner shrimp and yellow nose gobies eat parasites off fish without being eaten in return), its body parts (rainbow parrot fish have fused teeth that make a kind of beak to scrape algae from coral), or the way it communicates (squids and octopuses change color) or defends itself (Atlantic blue tangs and southern stingrays have barbs). Italicized words like “echinoderm” and “venomous” are defined in a glossary. These clear, well-defined paintings reveal recognizable creatures (or parts, when they are too big to fit on the spread) among colorful coral and anemones.
A fine way for budding marine biologists to get their feet wet while staying dry. (further information, resources, glossary, index, map) (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4335-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.
This book is buzzing with trivia.
Follow a swarm of bees as they leave a beekeeper’s apiary in search of a new home. As the scout bees traverse the fields, readers are provided with a potpourri of facts and statements about bees. The information is scattered—much like the scout bees—and as a result, both the nominal plot and informational content are tissue-thin. There are some interesting facts throughout the book, but many pieces of trivia are too, well trivial, to prove useful. For example, as the bees travel, readers learn that “onion flowers are round and fluffy” and “fennel is a plant that is used in cooking.” Other facts are oversimplified and as a result are not accurate. For example, monofloral honey is defined as “made by bees who visit just one kind of flower” with no acknowledgment of the fact that bees may range widely, and swarm activity is described as a springtime event, when it can also occur in summer and early fall. The information in the book, such as species identification and measurement units, is directed toward British readers. The flat, thin-lined artwork does little to enhance the story, but an “I spy” game challenging readers to find a specific bee throughout is amusing.
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere. (Informational picture book. 8-10)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-500-65265-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Another playful imagination-stretcher.
Markle invites children to picture themselves living in the homes of 11 wild animals.
As in previous entries in the series, McWilliam’s illustrations of a diverse cast of young people fancifully imitating wild creatures are paired with close-up photos of each animal in a like natural setting. The left side of one spread includes a photo of a black bear nestling in a cozy winter den, while the right side features an image of a human one cuddled up with a bear. On another spread, opposite a photo of honeybees tending to newly hatched offspring, a human “larva” lounges at ease in a honeycomb cell, game controller in hand, as insect attendants dish up goodies. A child with an eye patch reclines on an orb weaver spider’s web, while another wearing a head scarf constructs a castle in a subterranean chamber with help from mound-building termites. Markle adds simple remarks about each type of den, nest, or burrow and basic facts about its typical residents, then closes with a reassuring reminder to readers that they don’t have to live as animals do, because they will “always live where people live.” A select gallery of traditional homes, from igloo and yurt to mudhif, follows a final view of the young cast waving from a variety of differently styled windows.
Another playful imagination-stretcher. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781339049052
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
