A juicy topic, but the author tries too hard and the illustrator not hard enough.
Glimpses of some of the grosser ways wild animals respond to stress or attacks.
Obvious defensive behaviors like hiding and flying away get nods, but mostly Silver goes for the gusto with introductions to projectile-vomiting fulmar birds, blood-squirting horned lizards, spitting camels, and other creatures with similarly repulsive strategies. In a questionable decision, the author gives the inherently crowd-pleasing premise a jokey bent by having each animal speak informally for itself: “I also fry all my food. What? An electric eel’s gotta eat too. You use a microwave, don’t you?” “They call me Assassin. Assassin Bug…I’ve been trained to go on the attack when I’m scared. Take a look at my dead-bug backpack.” The afterword, in which she points out to young readers how their own instinctive reactions mimic (some of!) the ones she describes, seems likewise strained. In the illustrations, a drab palette and static compositions leach most of the drama from Maynard’s stodgy predator/prey encounters, but he does at least depict the wild cast with reasonable fidelity. The book opens and closes with racially diverse sets of human figures in outdoor settings.
A juicy topic, but the author tries too hard and the illustrator not hard enough. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Feb. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9781459836068
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
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
A lighthearted first look at an increasingly useful skill.
Grown-ups may not be the only audience for this simple explanation of how algorithms work.
Taking a confused-looking hipster parent firmly in hand, a child first points to all the computers around the house (“Pro Tip: When dealing with grown-ups, don’t jump into the complicated stuff too fast. Start with something they already know”). Next, the child leads the adult outside to make and follow step-by-step directions for getting to the park, deciding which playground equipment to use, and finally walking home. Along the way, concepts like conditionals and variables come into play in street maps and diagrams, and a literal bug stands in for the sort that programmers will inevitably need to find and solve. The lesson culminates in an actual sample of very simple code with labels that unpack each instruction…plus a pop quiz to lay out a decision tree for crossing the street, because if “your grown-up can explain it, that shows they understand it!” That goes for kids, too—and though Spiro doesn’t take the logical next step and furnish leads to actual manuals, young (and not so young) fledgling coders will find plenty of good ones around, such as Get Coding! (2017), published by Candlewick, or Rachel Ziter’s Coding From Scratch (2018).
A lighthearted first look at an increasingly useful skill. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2023
ISBN: 9781623543181
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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