A surface-level hodgepodge.
An introduction to our solar system and space travel.
Despite the title, only three of the 25 spreads explain how rockets work. The rest describe other propulsion methods (such as ion engines and solar sails) and various places of interest in space. What’s more, the description of rocket propulsion is unclear and misleading. A common simple explanation, not mentioned here, is that rockets push exhaust behind them to move forward, as jellyfish push water. Here, “a rocket burns mixtures of chemicals and pushes against the resulting exhaust to accelerate forward,” which makes it sound as though the exhaust doesn’t move—but the most important thing to understand is that it moves backward. Child readers are unlikely to pick that up from the integrated form of the rocket equation, appearing without explanation on the endpapers. Some content truly is beginner-friendly: “Getting to space is hard,” the text declares, adding, several pages later, “Getting to Mars is hard!” Other sentences ask much more from young readers: “Moons orbit planets, planets and asteroids orbit stars, and stars orbit the centers of galaxies, which often contain supermassive black holes, which have so much gravity that even light can’t escape!” Illustrations are straightforward and geometric, like a textbook’s, but with less detail. Vocabulary defined in a closing glossary is highlighted in the narrative, but some choices befuddle: Planet is defined, for instance, but suborbital path is not.
A surface-level hodgepodge. (list of selected spacecraft, glossary, resources) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0742-2
Page Count: 63
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2020
A variety show brimming with esoteric and practical information.
Two youngsters embark on a journey peppered with history, trivia, and skits while teaching money lessons.
Meet Mellody and John, the young stars of this currency showcase. Their very first dialogue offers a taste of the intriguing information to come, from the ancient Mayans’ use of cacao beans as payment to the origins of the piggy bank. The book offers a chronologically and geographically broad timeline of the history of money, encompassing the past 3.9 billion years (starting with meteorite crashes that scattered metals—“the very first bank deposit”) and referencing practices across five continents. Readers will find themselves eagerly sharing the facts gleaned here, including the centuries-old origins of terms and expressions still used today. Mellody and John’s fun banter crucially reflects their experiences with money, such as their families’ differing attitudes toward allowances. Both are savers as well as givers, sharing stories about giving to charity. In one especially entertaining section, a cat and a bunny converse in money-related catchphrases that are separately defined at the bottom of each page. Stevens’ watercolors are appropriately realistic and appealing, whether depicting Mellody’s pretend bank or Elizabeth II’s butler ironing a 10-pound note. Messages about money’s use as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself, ensure that readers will think about their own purposes for their savings. Mellody and John are Black.
A variety show brimming with esoteric and practical information. (index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781536224719
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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
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