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
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 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
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