Inspiring, lovely to look at, and well presented.
Some of the best ideas in the world have their origins in nature.
This delicious picture book pairs attractive illustrations of natural phenomena—such as a honeycomb or the way a desert beetle condenses water on its shell to store it for later—with photographs of the human-made creations inspired by them (a hexagonal low-income housing project in Slovenia, a water bottle). Innovative ideas from around the world are showcased: A Chilean park installation that took inspiration from stalactites and stalagmites; smaller, quieter Tunisian wind converters based on the figure-eight motion of a hummingbird’s wings in flight; and a Zimbabwean office building that borrows its heating and cooling arrangement from termite mounds are some of the intriguing innovations humans have adapted from nature (backmatter explains that this is called biomimicry). The text is in the tanka format, a Japanese form of poetry usually without punctuation or capitalization, with a set number of lines and syllables per line—a dynamic choice that underscores the observation and free-association thinking necessary to see the possibilities of the natural world. Two appended double-page spreads offer more in-depth explanations of the topics explored. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Inspiring, lovely to look at, and well presented. (sources, photo credits) (Informational picture book/poetry. 5-9)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64379-230-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe.
An introduction to gravity.
The book opens with the most iconic demonstration of gravity, an apple falling. Throughout, Herz tackles both huge concepts—how gravity compresses atoms to form stars and how black holes pull all kinds of matter toward them—and more concrete ones: how gravity allows you to jump up and then come back down to the ground. Gravity narrates in spare yet lyrical verse, explaining how it creates planets and compresses atoms and comparing itself to a hug. “My embrace is tight enough that you don’t float like a balloon, but loose enough that you can run and leap and play.” Gravity personifies itself at times: “I am stubborn—the bigger things are, the harder I pull.” Beautiful illustrations depict swirling planets and black holes alongside racially diverse children playing, running, and jumping, all thanks to gravity. Thorough backmatter discusses how Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity and explains Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. While at times Herz’s explanations may be a bit too technical for some readers, burgeoning scientists will be drawn in.
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe. (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: April 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668936849
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tilbury House
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Enticing and eco-friendly.
Why and how to make a rain garden.
Having watched through their classroom window as a “rooftop-rushing, gutter-gushing” downpour sloppily flooded their streets and playground, several racially diverse young children follow their tan-skinned teacher outside to lay out a shallow drainage ditch beneath their school’s downspout, which leads to a patch of ground, where they plant flowers (“native ones with tough, thick roots,” Schaub specifies) to absorb the “mucky runoff” and, in time, draw butterflies and other wildlife. The author follows up her lilting rhyme with more detailed explanations of a rain garden’s function and construction, including a chart to help determine how deep to make the rain garden and a properly cautionary note about locating a site’s buried utility lines before starting to dig; she concludes with a set of leads to online information sources. Gómez goes more for visual appeal than realism. In her scenes, a group of smiling, round-headed, very small children in rain gear industriously lay large stones along a winding border with little apparent effort; nevertheless, her images of the little ones planting generic flowers that are tall and lush just a page turn later do make the outdoorsy project look like fun.
Enticing and eco-friendly. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: March 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781324052357
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Norton Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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