Densely packed overviews, equally suitable for poring over in a lap or mounting on a wall.
On a continuous strip over 2 meters long, the story of life from our planet’s earliest years to today’s Anthropocene Era.
On one side of the detachable, accordion-folded sheet, Forshaw strews hundreds of small figures (mostly animals once past the single-cell stage) in suggestively placed and colored environmental tracks, starting with the hypothesized “Last Universal Common Ancestor.” Developments first in water and later on land and above ensue as dinosaurs and extinct mammals parade past, early primates become Homo sapiens (all men, but the first one at least is appropriately dark-skinned), and newly domesticated flora and fauna give way to steam engines, oil rigs, and skyscrapers. A 24-hour “Earth clock” running along the top does double duty by tracking continental drift as well as suggesting the vast scale of passing epochs. Bound in behind the foldout is a set of historical “news” stories highlighting select advances from the theories of “Mr. Empedocles” to evidence of climate change and the creation of three-parent babies (the last with some factual errors). Publishing simultaneously, The Science Timeline Wallbook uses the same infographic approach, if less effectively—cramming hundreds of differently clad but essentially look-alike figures and nearly illegibly tiny captions into seven thematic ribbons. Both volumes include a (helpful, not to say essential) magnifier sheet in a front pocket and end with lengthy multiple-choice review quizzes.
Densely packed overviews, equally suitable for poring over in a lap or mounting on a wall. (Informational novelty. 10-13)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9932847-3-1
Page Count: 24
Publisher: What on Earth Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017
“In 1875 there were perhaps fifty million of them. Just twenty-five years later nearly every one of them was gone.” The author of many nonfiction books for young people (Bridges; Truck; Giants of the Highways, etc.) tells the story of the American bison, from prehistory, when Bison latifrons walked North America along with the dinosaurs, to the recent past when the Sioux and other plains Indians hunted the familiar bison. Robbins uses historic photographs, etchings, and paintings to show their sad history. To the Native Americans of the plains, the buffalo was central to their way of life. Arriving Europeans, however, hunted for sport, slaughtering thousands for their hides, or to clear the land for the railroad, or farmers. One telling photo shows a man atop a mountain of buffalo skulls. At the very last moment, enough individuals “came to their senses,” and worked to protect the remaining few. Thanks to their efforts, this animal is no longer endangered, but the author sounds a somber note as he concludes: “the millions are gone, and they will never come back.” A familiar story, well-told, and enhanced by the many well-chosen period photographs. (photo credits) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83025-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2000
Here is an adventure in a unique setting. The lively text and lovely watercolors document three and a half months of a summer the artist and author spent at the South Pole, as part of the National Science Foundation Antarctic Artists & Writers Program. Hooper describes everyday life aboard the research ship Laurence M. Gould, a sturdy orange icebreaker that scientists use to travel between the islands to study the wide variety of animals who come each year to breed and raise their young. An assortment of penguins, elephant seals, giant petrels, huge skuas, and leopard seals hold center stage. Scientists are less important than the serious business of successfully raising young in the short summer season. The author captures the drama of the ice-cold ocean, alive with life: “Swarms of barrel-shaped blue-tinged salps, stuck together in floating chains. Minute creatures with red eyes. Sliding through the water in a curving path like a ribbon.” The artist provides striking paintings of the landscape and the animals in soft washy colors, and quick pencil sketches. The ice is lemon gold with mauve shadows, and the sea a silver gray in the 24-hour day. Animals are expressive and individual. The krill, the tiny shrimp-like creatures that form the backbone of the ocean food chain, appear in luminous glory. The author concludes with a page on global warming, a map of the islands visited, and an index. From cover to cover a personal and informative journey. (Nonfiction. 7-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7922-7188-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2000
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