A geo-hodgepodge, wearisome despite its planetary scope and a resolutely international outlook.
On oversized pages, top-to-bottom journeys through first our planet and then its oceans.
As itineraries go, neither outing is particularly well-organized. The land portion begins with clusters of nematodes and suchlike small subsurface dwellers—all accompanied by labels and, often, a descriptive comment—and goes on to teeming galleries of other diggers, including row after row of root vegetables. A series of human-built works in cross section follows, and then the book digs past plate tectonics to plunge into the mantle and so down to the planet’s core. In a switch that makes more poetic than physical sense, the orientation then reverses, so that turning the page begins a journey from the bottom of the Marianas Trench on up. That progress isn’t any steadier, as artificially dense crowds of exotic deep-sea fish give way to oil rigs and undersea vessels of diverse design, then finally select reef and freshwater-lake denizens. The unwieldy volume comes with two title pages (and covers), so voyagers can start from either end. Either way, though, the going takes on a monotonous quality, as the hundreds of creatures and structures are drawn in the same flat, cartoon style (rarely to scale) and so shoveled-in among balloons of commentary that many spreads look overstuffed. The skin tones of human figures vary from white to light brown.
A geo-hodgepodge, wearisome despite its planetary scope and a resolutely international outlook. (Informational picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-78370-364-7
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Big Picture/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A tender coming-of-age tale with special resonance for nature lovers.
A novel in verse centered on a young girl who moves from India to Rhode Island in the wake of her parents’ divorce.
Geetha finds herself bullied by her schoolmates for her clothes and her accent and missing everything about home: her extended family, her music tutor, her dog, and, above all, her father. Meanwhile, her mother, grappling with depression, worries about making ends meet and building a new life in America. Still, playing her flute anchors Geetha amid the turmoil. When she discovers an injured harp seal pup on the beach, she and her new friend Miguel (who’s of Mexican descent) alert the authorities, who rescue the animal and bring him to a sanctuary. The experience brings her closer to Miguel—a child of divorce like her. As Geetha and Miguel visit the pup, whom they name Santo, Geetha’s inspired to learn more about seals and the plight they face due to climate change. At times, the verse falls a bit flat, though Geetha’s emotions ring true, as do the little moments that remind Geetha that she’s an outsider. The story comes to vivid life as Geetha draws parallels between herself and Santo—both feeling lost and adrift—and organizes a cleanup of the beach. Venkatraman closes with an especially poignant author’s note in which she discusses her own experience as a woman of color in STEM.
A tender coming-of-age tale with special resonance for nature lovers. (Verse novel. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9780593112502
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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