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LIFE ON EARTH: SPACE

Name: LIFE ON EARTH: SPACE
Author: Heather Alexander
ISBN: 978-1-78603-055-9

From the Life on Earth series

by Heather Alexander ; illustrated by Andrés Lozano ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 22, 2018

Broad of scope and easy on the eyes—but marred by too many errors and oversimplifications.

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From the Big Bang to space toilets, an outer-space Q-and-A with most of the answers hidden beneath multitudinous flaps.

Along with arrays of simply drawn but recognizable spacecraft, scientific gear, and heavenly bodies on, between, and under the large and small flaps on every stiff page, Lozano’s bright cartoon illustrations feature a human cast that is thoroughly diverse in age, gender, and skin color. The narrative content is, unfortunately, less appealing. Alexander asks and answers queries on a great range of subjects—usually accurately and sometimes cleverly (readers wanting to keep the planets in order either by size or by distance from the sun will find mnemonic prompts for both). However, the only telescopes she mentions are optical ones and the only spacecraft or rockets NASA-built, and she implies that Venus is the only planet visible to the naked eye. Moreover, a claim that “Most [meteorites] land in the desert or Antarctica” is nonsensical (perhaps she means that most are found in those locales), and a reference to “Kupier [sic] Belt Objects” isn’t the only sign of sloppy copy editing.

Broad of scope and easy on the eyes—but marred by too many errors and oversimplifications. (Informational novelty. 6-9)

Pub Date: March 22, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-78603-055-9

Page Count: 16

Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions

Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
ONLY IN NEW YORK
by Heather Alexander ; illustrated by Joseph Moffat-Peña

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ONLY IN AMERICA
by Heather Alexander ; illustrated by Alan Berry Rhys

- BOOK REVIEW
PITCH PARTNERS
by Heather Alexander with Laura D'Asaro & Rose Wang ; illustrated by Vanessa Flores

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I AM GRAVITY

by Henry Herz ; illustrated by Mercè López ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 15, 2024

An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS
edited by Henry Herz

- BOOK REVIEW
WINK
edited by Henry Herz ; illustrated by Adam Gustavson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE HITHERTO SECRET EXPERIMENTS OF MARIE CURIE
edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt & Henry Herz

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OVER AND UNDER THE WAVES

From the Over and Under series

by Kate Messner ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2022

More thoughtful, sometimes exhilarating encounters with nature.

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In a new entry in the Over and Under series, a paddleboarder glimpses humpback whales leaping, floats over a populous kelp forest, and explores life on a beach and in a tide pool.

In this tale inspired by Messner’s experiences in Monterey Bay in California, a young tan-skinned narrator, along with their light-skinned mom and tan-skinned dad, observes in quiet, lyrical language sights and sounds above and below the sea’s serene surface. Switching perspectives and angles of view and often leaving the family’s red paddleboards just tiny dots bobbing on distant swells, Neal’s broad seascapes depict in precise detail bat stars and anchovies, kelp bass, and sea otters going about their business amid rocky formations and the swaying fronds of kelp…and, further out, graceful moon jellies and—thrillingly—massive whales in open waters beneath gliding pelicans and other shorebirds. After returning to the beach at day’s end to search for shells and to spot anemones and decorator crabs, the child ends with nighttime dreams of stars in the sky meeting stars in the sea. Appended nature notes on kelp and 21 other types of sealife fill in details about patterns and relationships in this rich ecosystem. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

More thoughtful, sometimes exhilarating encounters with nature. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 6-9)