Sketchy but not (quite) as bland as it seems.
An overview of weather and its causes, with pull-tab scenes that switch back and forth.
In neatly squared-off bursts of facts and general observations the survey opens with a look at the sun’s origin and effects. On successive thematic spreads it then introduces rain, wind, snow and ice, and finally thunder and lightning. Along with being a bit vague on the difference between weather and climate, Otter frequently oversimplifies—claiming, for instance, on the same leaf that a lightning bolt “travels downward” and that negative atmospheric charges anthropomorphically “search for” and “sense” positive ones. She does offer at least basic references to weather norms and extremes, spiced with specific temperature and wind speed records or other statistics, plus brief explanations of important concepts such as the water cycle, acid rain, and even the “Goldilocks Zone.” Tolson goes for stylized nature scenes in her simple cartoon pictures; some of the rare, small human figures seem to have dark skin. The front cover and each verso feature a larger illustration that is transformed by the pull of a ribbon…usually in an innocuous change from, for example, daytime to night, but in one disquieting instance showing a tornado-threatened family packing up a car that is next seen flying through the air.
Sketchy but not (quite) as bland as it seems. (Informational novelty. 6-8)Pub Date: June 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-61067-897-1
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
Energetic enough to carry younger rocketeers off the launch pad if not into a very high orbit.
The bubble-helmeted feline explains what rockets do and the role they have played in sending people (and animals) into space.
Addressing a somewhat younger audience than in previous outings (Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers of Space, 2013, etc.), Astro Cat dispenses with all but a light shower of “factoroids” to describe how rockets work. A highly selective “History of Space Travel” follows—beginning with a crew of fruit flies sent aloft in 1947, later the dog Laika (her dismal fate left unmentioned), and the human Yuri Gagarin. Then it’s on to Apollo 11 in 1969; the space shuttles Discovery, Columbia, and Challenger (the fates of the latter two likewise elided); the promise of NASA’s next-gen Orion and the Space Launch System; and finally vague closing references to other rockets in the works for local tourism and, eventually, interstellar travel. In the illustrations the spacesuited professor, joined by a mouse and cat in similar dress, do little except float in space and point at things. Still, the art has a stylish retro look, and portraits of Sally Ride and Guion Bluford diversify an otherwise all-white, all-male astronaut corps posing heroically or riding blocky, geometric spacecraft across starry reaches.
Energetic enough to carry younger rocketeers off the launch pad if not into a very high orbit. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-911171-55-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flying Eye Books
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A rendition more poignant than patriotic with, at least in the rhymed portions, the cadence of a lullaby.
An illustrated version of the ever popular Scottish “Skye Boat Song,” with added lyrics and historical background.
Written in the 19th century (and set to a folk melody), the verses commemorate the flight of Bonnie Prince Charlie, then in his mid-20s, from the 1746 battle of Culloden. They begin after a prose introduction that sets the scene and follows the fugitive until—disguised (according to legend) as resourceful cottager Flora MacDonald’s maidservant—he escapes in a boat to the Isle of Skye. Along with a closing note, the anonymous modern co-author also adds a near ambush by British troops to the storyline in the lyrics and tones down the martial closing lines to a milder “Rightfully king! True hearts will stay / Faithful for evermore!” There is no visible blood or explicit violence in Belli’s depictions of the battle and its aftermath, but in the clean-lined watercolor scenes he fashions evocatively rough seas and stormy skies until landfall brings a final calm. The British soldiers’ red coats and the bright tartans in which the handsome, downcast prince and other male Scots in the all-white cast are outfitted shine against the muted backgrounds.
A rendition more poignant than patriotic with, at least in the rhymed portions, the cadence of a lullaby. (map) (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-78250-367-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Floris
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
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