Enthralling fare for budding naturalists.
An encounter between a young diver and an eight-armed sea creature touches off a deluge of octo-facts.
Catering to animal lovers who can’t get enough of these weird and fascinating creatures, Kerbel loads up the pages with easy-to-grasp information, presented in paired blocks of different type sizes. The author fetchingly observes that a drowsing octopus “might reach for something soft to cuddle” (a sponge or possibly a sea cucumber in the illustration), while a separate block labeled “FACT” in smaller type explains that octopuses have two rows of up to 280 “strong and sensitive” suckers on each arm that are “used for feeling, tasting, and gripping.” Lo’s freely drawn and brushed pictures add to the intimate overall feeling, depicting a pink, button-eyed octopus working over a sandy seabed rich with brightly colored shells and fish; the octopus often seems to dance with a snorkeler with light brown skin and pigtails who glides by overhead. Meanwhile, the author marvels infectiously at the creature’s anatomy, intelligence, and uncommon ability to change colors, skin textures, and even shape (in the case of the mimic octopus) to hunt prey or hide from predators. The lesson’s not over when the time comes to wave “Goodbye, Octopus!”; Kerbel closes with a list of “Extra Octopus Facts.”
Enthralling fare for budding naturalists. (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9781771475716
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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
A sweet and endearing feathered migration.
A relationship between a Latina grandmother and her mixed-race granddaughter serves as the frame to depict the ruby-throated hummingbird migration pattern.
In Granny’s lap, a girl is encouraged to “keep still” as the intergenerational pair awaits the ruby-throated hummingbirds with bowls of water in their hands. But like the granddaughter, the tz’unun—“the word for hummingbird in several [Latin American] languages”—must soon fly north. Over the next several double-page spreads, readers follow the ruby-throated hummingbird’s migration pattern from Central America and Mexico through the United States all the way to Canada. Davies metaphorically reunites the granddaughter and grandmother when “a visitor from Granny’s garden” crosses paths with the girl in New York City. Ray provides delicately hashed lines in the illustrations that bring the hummingbirds’ erratic flight pattern to life as they travel north. The watercolor palette is injected with vibrancy by the addition of gold ink, mirroring the hummingbirds’ flashing feathers in the slants of light. The story is supplemented by notes on different pages with facts about the birds such as their nest size, diet, and flight schedule. In addition, a note about ruby-throated hummingbirds supplies readers with detailed information on how ornithologists study and keep track of these birds.
A sweet and endearing feathered migration. (bibliography, index) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0538-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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