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MAGNIFICENT BIRDS

Name: MAGNIFICENT BIRDS
Author: Candlewick Press
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0169-7

by Candlewick Press ; illustrated by Narisa Togo ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 4, 2018

Lovely but out of sync

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Fourteen bird species chosen for their dramatic or unusual characteristics are illustrated and described in this album.

Each spread presents a full-bleed linocut print of the bird in question in its habitat, with a paragraph or two of detailed text describing such features as flight pattern, typical courtship behavior, plumage, migration, and feeding habits. The text includes fascinating facts about the birds, such as how the flamingo’s plumage varies with its diet, the way the bird of paradise shows off its plumage to its mate, the unusual vision of the common kingfisher, and how the toucan uses its enormous beak. Birds that travel vast distances are described, including the wandering albatross, which can cover more than 10,000 miles in a single journey, and the bar-tailed godwit, which flies more than 6,000 miles during migration. One of the most interesting birds is the rare kakapo from New Zealand, which uses its thoracic sac to make a booming sound to attract females. Togo’s linocut illustrations are beautifully composed, judiciously colored, and observant renderings of the birds and their habitats and help to give life to the factual text (produced in collaboration with the British Royal Society for the Protection of Birds). However, they seem mismatched to the fine-print, detailed text, looking too junior for the reading level.

Lovely but out of sync . (Nonfiction. 10-14)

Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-5362-0169-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
VOICES FROM THE SECOND WORLD WAR
by Candlewick Press

- BOOK REVIEW
PEPPA PIG AND THE YEAR OF FAMILY FUN
by Candlewick Press ; illustrated by Candlewick Press

- BOOK REVIEW
SUPER SUPPER THROWDOWN
by Candlewick Press ; illustrated by Lunch Lab, LLC

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ISAAC NEWTON

From the Giants of Science series

by Kathleen Krull & illustrated by Boris Kulikov ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2006

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Hot on the heels of the well-received Leonardo da Vinci (2005) comes another agreeably chatty entry in the Giants of Science series. Here the pioneering physicist is revealed as undeniably brilliant, but also cantankerous, mean-spirited, paranoid and possibly depressive. Newton’s youth and annus mirabilis receive respectful treatment, the solitude enforced by family estrangement and then the plague seen as critical to the development of his thoughtful, methodical approach. His subsequent squabbles with the rest of the scientific community—he refrained from publishing one treatise until his rival was dead—further support the image of Newton as a scientific lone wolf. Krull’s colloquial treatment sketches Newton’s advances in clearly understandable terms without bogging the text down with detailed explanations. A final chapter on “His Impact” places him squarely in the pantheon of great thinkers, arguing that both his insistence on the scientific method and his theories of physics have informed all subsequent scientific thought. A bibliography, web site and index round out the volume; the lack of detail on the use of sources is regrettable in an otherwise solid offering for middle-grade students. (Biography. 10-14)

Pub Date: April 1, 2006

ISBN: 0-670-05921-8

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2006

Categories:

CHILDREN'S BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
BORN READING
by Kathleen Krull & Virginia Loh-Hagan ; illustrated by Aura Lewis

- BOOK REVIEW
WALKING TOWARD PEACE
by Kathleen Krull ; illustrated by Annie Bowler

- BOOK REVIEW
STAY CURIOUS!
by Kathleen Krull & Paul Brewer ; illustrated by Boris Kulikov

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I WANT TO BE AN ENVIRONMENTALIST

by Stephanie Maze ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2000

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This glossy, colorful title in the “I Want To Be” series has visual appeal but poor organization and a fuzzy focus, which limits its usefulness. Each double-paged layout introduces a new topic with six to eight full-color photographs and a single column of text. Topics include types of environmentalists, eco-issues, waste renewal, education, High School of Environmental Studies, environmental vocabulary, history of environmentalism, famous environmentalists, and the return of the eagle. Often the photographs have little to do with the text or are marginal to the topic. For example, a typical layout called “Some Alternative Solutions” has five snapshots superimposed on a double-page photograph of a California wind farm. The text discusses ways to develop alternative forms of energy and “encourage environmentally friendly lifestyles.” Photos include “a healer who treats a patient with alternative therapy using sound and massage,” and “the Castle,” a house built of “used tires and aluminum cans.” Elsewhere, “Did You Know . . . ” shows a dramatic photo of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, but the text provides odd facts such as “ . . . that in Saudi Arabia there are solar-powered pay phones in the desert?” Some sections seem stuck in, a two-page piece on the effects of “El Niño” or 50 postage-stamp–sized photos of endangered species. The author concludes with places to write for more information and a list of photo credits. Pretty, but little here to warrant purchase. (Nonfiction. 9-11)