Though low on frills, as solid an introduction for the age range as can be found in print.
A comprehensive, elementary-level introduction to the honeybee.
In well-organized two-page chapters, Milner explores honeybee colony structure, reproduction, pollination, honey production, the importance of bees to food production, threats, and more. From a brief opening survey of different bee species to a concluding section on planting a pollinator-friendly garden, the facts are unfurled in a direct, unhurried manner. The author carefully pitches her presentation to her audience, often supplying leading questions (“How do bees make honey?”; “What is a swarm?”) as segues. She includes scientific and other specialized vocabulary (“stamen,” “larva,” “waggle dance,” “nurse bee”) naturally and with appropriate context to aid comprehension. Her bright, matte illustrations, dominated by honey yellows, are similarly unfussy, clearly communicating the desired information and offering the occasional challenge (spotting the queen in a swarm). Most humans depicted are white, save in the final spread. The factors contributing to bee-population decline are presented with suitable gravity and with concrete suggestions for readers to help mitigate them (building a “bee hotel”; planting wildflowers). While it’s too bad she uses the sensationalistic term “killer bee” and practicing beekeepers will smirk at the implication they are never stung, the presentation on the whole is both responsible and accurate.
Though low on frills, as solid an introduction for the age range as can be found in print. (Informational picture book. 4-10)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4654-6553-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
Erupt into applause for this picture book of the first magma-tude.
A deceptively simple, visually appealing, comprehensive explanation of volcanoes.
Gibbons packs an impressive number of facts into this browsable nonfiction picture book. The text begins with the awe of a volcanic eruption: “The ground begins to rumble…ash, hot lava and rock, and gases shoot up into the air.” Diagrams of the Earth’s structural layers—inner and outer core, mantle, and crust—undergird a discussion about why volcanoes occur. Simple maps of the Earth’s seven major tectonic plates show where volcanoes are likeliest to develop. Other spreads with bright, clearly labeled illustrations cover intriguing subtopics: four types of volcanoes and how they erupt; underwater volcanoes; well-known volcanoes and historic volcanic eruptions around the world; how to be safe in the vicinity of a volcano; and the work of scientists studying volcanoes and helping to predict eruptions. A page of eight facts about volcanoes wraps things up. The straightforward, concise prose will be easy for young readers to follow. As always, Gibbons manages to present a great deal of information in a compact form.
Erupt into applause for this picture book of the first magma-tude. (Nonfiction picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4569-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
A gleeful game for budding naturalists.
Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.
In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781728271170
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
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