Curious youngsters will eagerly flock to this fascinating book.
Are humans unique? No! We belong to a community of critters.
Hoare and Lloyd find multiple, and sometimes surprising, commonalities between humans and other animals, starting and ending at the genetic level. We’re all made of cells, we all have internal clocks, we all have feelings, and we all communicate. Along the way, the authors answer basic biological questions: How are animals classified? How do they grow? Why is oxygen so important? Hoare and Lloyd also provide plenty of astonishing facts about the things that set various creatures apart: Turtles can breathe through their bottoms. Leeches have 32 brains. Our human “body clock” is the size of a poppy seed. Bees can clamp their jaws on a plant to sleep, while chinstrap penguins take thousands of micro-naps a day. Rats love to have their tummies tickled; humans and bananas share 50% of their genes. The writing is informative, though jargon-free and conversational, often addressing readers directly. The section on poop is bound to be especially popular. Colorful stylized illustrations add detail, mostly depicting the animals close up or in isolation, but sometimes portraying them in their natural habitats. Occasional photographs are interspersed. The few humans shown are racially diverse.
Curious youngsters will eagerly flock to this fascinating book. (glossary, selected sources, picture credits, index) (Informational picture book. 8-12)Pub Date: today
ISBN: 9781804661468
Page Count: 48
Publisher: What on Earth!
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
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
Contentwise, an arbitrary assortment…but sure to draw fans of comics, of science, or of both.
Flash, Batman, and other characters from the DC Comics universe tackle supervillains and STEM-related topics and sometimes, both.
Credited to 20 writers and illustrators in various combinations, the 10 episodes invite readers to tag along as Mera and Aquaman visit oceanic zones from epipelagic to hadalpelagic; Supergirl helps a young scholar pick a science-project topic by taking her on a tour of the solar system; and Swamp Thing lends Poison Ivy a hand to describe how DNA works (later joining Swamp Kid to scuttle a climate-altering scheme by Arcane). In other episodes, various costumed creations explain the ins and outs of diverse large- and small-scale phenomena, including electricity, atomic structure, forensic techniques, 3-D printing, and the lactate threshold. Presumably on the supposition that the characters will be more familiar to readers than the science, the minilectures tend to start from simple basics, but the figures are mostly both redrawn to look more childlike than in the comics and identified only in passing. Drawing styles and page designs differ from chapter to chapter but not enough to interrupt overall visual unity and flow—and the cast is sufficiently diverse to include roles for superheroes (and villains) of color like Cyborg, Kid Flash, and the Latina Green Lantern, Jessica Cruz. Appended lists of websites and science-based YouTube channels, plus instructions for homespun activities related to each episode, point inspired STEM-winders toward further discoveries.
Contentwise, an arbitrary assortment…but sure to draw fans of comics, of science, or of both. (Graphic nonfiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77950-382-4
Page Count: 160
Publisher: DC
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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