An attractive addition to natural-science shelves.
After a clear pronunciation guide on the title page, readers learn examples of antipodes on Earth—and a few respective animal inhabitants—and why they never share daylight hours.
Offering a clear definition of “antipodes,” the introductory double-page spread features a huge, stylized rendition of Earth in outer space, setting up the idea that there are “amazing animals” living in places that are exactly opposite each other on the globe. “Each creature has evolved and adapted to live in their own special place in the world.” The double-page spread that follows starts a pattern that holds for the next 10 page turns: There’s a small amount of information in graceful language (“The North Pole. Under the northern lights, polar bears roam by icy waves”); vivid, colorful, collagelike art across the top halves of the pages; and the unique fun of turning each spread upside down to access the art and text describing the right-side-up’s antipode. There is a small globe at dead center of each spread on which the relevant antipodes are indicated, but its location and hard-to-decipher land shapes detract from usefulness. The final pages clearly explain the planet’s rotation, revolution, and tilt—again accompanied by striking artwork. The endpapers offer additional delight, with labeled, colored-pencil renditions of animals that readers may (or may not) have noticed during their first read.
An attractive addition to natural-science shelves. (Informational picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-939547-49-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Creston
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
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
Another playful imagination-stretcher.
Markle invites children to picture themselves living in the homes of 11 wild animals.
As in previous entries in the series, McWilliam’s illustrations of a diverse cast of young people fancifully imitating wild creatures are paired with close-up photos of each animal in a like natural setting. The left side of one spread includes a photo of a black bear nestling in a cozy winter den, while the right side features an image of a human one cuddled up with a bear. On another spread, opposite a photo of honeybees tending to newly hatched offspring, a human “larva” lounges at ease in a honeycomb cell, game controller in hand, as insect attendants dish up goodies. A child with an eye patch reclines on an orb weaver spider’s web, while another wearing a head scarf constructs a castle in a subterranean chamber with help from mound-building termites. Markle adds simple remarks about each type of den, nest, or burrow and basic facts about its typical residents, then closes with a reassuring reminder to readers that they don’t have to live as animals do, because they will “always live where people live.” A select gallery of traditional homes, from igloo and yurt to mudhif, follows a final view of the young cast waving from a variety of differently styled windows.
Another playful imagination-stretcher. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781339049052
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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