An ode to spring that will have readers getting out in nature.
Like a bird or flower identification book, this field guide notes the features of the season.
The author encourages children to make nature their friend by being curious, creative, and kind. Small icons throughout the book encourage use of the senses and note opportunities for readers to learn something, notice their feelings while in nature, or just be part of it all. The bulk of the book focuses on signs of spring and where to find them: frogs’ eggs, birds’ nests, new plant growth, longer days, and baby animals. Several poems will tickle readers’ ears as they listen for more signals of the season or read a delicious ode to mud. Lots of activities are sprinkled throughout, from journaling your observations and building a rain gauge to painting pebbles, making seed balls and bird nests, and pond dipping. Lessons on the water cycle, the growth of a seed, the identification of spring flowers and birds’ eggs, the tadpole-to-frog life cycle, the formation of rainbows, and why the Earth warms during spring will go down easily amid all these sensory-heavy, hands-on activities. Aptly, Brouwers’ realistic, watercolor-esque illustrations are rendered in light blues, greens, and yellows. The focus is on nature, but what glimpses there are of children show them varying in skin tone.
An ode to spring that will have readers getting out in nature. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 5-9)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780500653517
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 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
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
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