Poor execution sinks this effort.
This chatty collective biography highlights achievements of 12 lesser-known inventors and innovators in technologies that are now commonplace in homes, workplaces, and public spaces.
With the exceptions of windshield wipers, Scotchguard™, and the three-point lap-and-shoulder seat belt, the technologies discussed are either digital or electronic. Nolan Bushnell, the co-founder of Atari, unleashed Pong upon the world in 1972. Adam Cheyer and Dag Kittlaus invented the conversational personal assistant Siri. Marie Van Brittan Brown pioneered the use of closed-circuit television. The research of Shirley Ann Jackson, the first African American woman to receive a Ph.D. from MIT, led to the faster and more reliable transmission of data through fiber optic cables and to the development of the solar cell. The biographical profiles and explanations of the technologies, written in an informal, conversational tone, are quite brief, even superficial, with little or no elaboration about their greater cultural or societal impacts. Katz includes lighthearted elements such as imagined poems, song lyrics, and diary entries with each profile. Neither these nor the unremarkable pencil-drawn illustrations that complement the comical addendums shed significant light on the figures profiled. A serious flaw is the lack of source notes, bibliographic information, and any other backmatter. The lineup has a greater proportion of women than seen in many tech overviews, but only Jackson and Brown, both African American, seem to be people of color.
Poor execution sinks this effort. (Collective biography. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7624-6336-7
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Review Posted Online: May 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
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
Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless.
Tales of a fourth grade ne’er-do-well.
It seems that young Jordan is stuck in a never-ending string of bad luck. Sure, no one’s perfect (except maybe goody-two-shoes William Feranek), but Jordan can’t seem to keep his attention focused on the task at hand. Try as he may, things always go a bit sideways, much to his educators’ chagrin. But Jordan promises himself that fourth grade will be different. As the year unfolds, it does prove to be different, but in a way Jordan couldn’t possibly have predicted. This humorous memoir perfectly captures the square-peg-in-a-round-hole feeling many kids feel and effectively heightens that feeling with comic situations and a splendid villain. Jordan’s teacher, Mrs. Fisher, makes an excellent foil, and the book’s 1970s setting allows for her cruelty to go beyond anything most contemporary readers could expect. Unfortunately, the story begins to run out of steam once Mrs. Fisher exits. Recollections spiral, losing their focus and leading to a more “then this happened” and less cause-and-effect structure. The anecdotes are all amusing and Jordan is an endearing protagonist, but the book comes dangerously close to wearing out its welcome with sheer repetitiveness. Thankfully, it ends on a high note, one pleasant and hopeful enough that readers will overlook some of the shabbier qualities. Jordan is White and Jewish while there is some diversity among his classmates; Mrs. Fisher is White.
Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless. (Memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-64723-5
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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