Familiarity breeds appreciation.
A dual-level text set against a background of colorful, posterlike art introduces readers to the lives of dragonflies.
The art on the initial double-page spread—indeed on all—is dramatic and eye-catching. This one shows a large dragonfly whose golden-and-blue body stretches across the gutter, with a background of green and blue foliage against pink-hued panels. Large, bold text declares: “We’ve been here three hundred million years. We are small now, but back then our wings spread more than 2 feet across. And we ruled the sky.” As with all ensuing spreads but the last, this first-person text—ostensibly narrated by English-speaking dragonflies—is followed by text in a smaller font, more informative and sophisticated, and related in the third person. The dragonflies’ commentary, along with bold imagery, will keep younger naturalists from squirming; reading the additional text is recommended for ages 6 and older. Along with more concepts than the simpler text offers—such as cannibalism among dragonflies in the nymph stage and the importance of external heat to these coldblooded creatures—the additional text uses, usually defining, more-advanced vocabulary words such as “species,” “molting,” “intercept,” and “iridescent.” One unusual word—“naiad”—and its literal definition (“of the water”) does appear early on in the simpler text; its reappearance later provides a comforting appreciation of life cycles.
Familiarity breeds appreciation. (author’s note, resources) (Informational picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-8075-5821-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
Erupt into applause for this picture book of the first magma-tude.
A deceptively simple, visually appealing, comprehensive explanation of volcanoes.
Gibbons packs an impressive number of facts into this browsable nonfiction picture book. The text begins with the awe of a volcanic eruption: “The ground begins to rumble…ash, hot lava and rock, and gases shoot up into the air.” Diagrams of the Earth’s structural layers—inner and outer core, mantle, and crust—undergird a discussion about why volcanoes occur. Simple maps of the Earth’s seven major tectonic plates show where volcanoes are likeliest to develop. Other spreads with bright, clearly labeled illustrations cover intriguing subtopics: four types of volcanoes and how they erupt; underwater volcanoes; well-known volcanoes and historic volcanic eruptions around the world; how to be safe in the vicinity of a volcano; and the work of scientists studying volcanoes and helping to predict eruptions. A page of eight facts about volcanoes wraps things up. The straightforward, concise prose will be easy for young readers to follow. As always, Gibbons manages to present a great deal of information in a compact form.
Erupt into applause for this picture book of the first magma-tude. (Nonfiction picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4569-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
A gleeful game for budding naturalists.
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
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