Scientific discoveries spring to life in this action-packed graphic novel.
The childhood antics and later achievements of Nobel Prize–winning Spanish neuroscientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934) are given an engaging graphic-novel treatment.
As children, Santiago and his younger brother, Pedro, skipped school and were added to their town’s official list of troublemakers. Their strict doctor father, who came from a background of hardship, was intent on Santiago’s following him into a stable career in medicine. Though he was forbidden to pursue art, his true passion, Santiago stubbornly refused to give up on it, even when he was sent away to a brutal Catholic school. There, Santiago found plenty of opportunities for mischief, even building and firing a cannon, which landed him in jail. Eventually his path did lead him to medical school, and his enduring love for art paid off when he illustrated in groundbreaking work how the brain’s nerve cells are organized. The skills Santiago cultivated during his misspent youth allowed him to achieve greatness in the field of neuroscience. His wild antics are depicted in humorous detail in illustrations that bring the historical setting to life. Slapstick humor and stylized, exaggerated representations of an impish Santiago contribute to the story’s liveliness and fast pace. Extensive, detailed source notes show how much research went into the work and indicate which elements are based on fact and which Hosler imagined to fill in the narrative.
Scientific discoveries spring to life in this action-packed graphic novel. (bibliography) (Graphic nonfiction. 8-14)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-8234-5036-7
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.
This book is buzzing with trivia.
Follow a swarm of bees as they leave a beekeeper’s apiary in search of a new home. As the scout bees traverse the fields, readers are provided with a potpourri of facts and statements about bees. The information is scattered—much like the scout bees—and as a result, both the nominal plot and informational content are tissue-thin. There are some interesting facts throughout the book, but many pieces of trivia are too, well trivial, to prove useful. For example, as the bees travel, readers learn that “onion flowers are round and fluffy” and “fennel is a plant that is used in cooking.” Other facts are oversimplified and as a result are not accurate. For example, monofloral honey is defined as “made by bees who visit just one kind of flower” with no acknowledgment of the fact that bees may range widely, and swarm activity is described as a springtime event, when it can also occur in summer and early fall. The information in the book, such as species identification and measurement units, is directed toward British readers. The flat, thin-lined artwork does little to enhance the story, but an “I spy” game challenging readers to find a specific bee throughout is amusing.
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere. (Informational picture book. 8-10)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-500-65265-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A variety show brimming with esoteric and practical information.
Two youngsters embark on a journey peppered with history, trivia, and skits while teaching money lessons.
Meet Mellody and John, the young stars of this currency showcase. Their very first dialogue offers a taste of the intriguing information to come, from the ancient Mayans’ use of cacao beans as payment to the origins of the piggy bank. The book offers a chronologically and geographically broad timeline of the history of money, encompassing the past 3.9 billion years (starting with meteorite crashes that scattered metals—“the very first bank deposit”) and referencing practices across five continents. Readers will find themselves eagerly sharing the facts gleaned here, including the centuries-old origins of terms and expressions still used today. Mellody and John’s fun banter crucially reflects their experiences with money, such as their families’ differing attitudes toward allowances. Both are savers as well as givers, sharing stories about giving to charity. In one especially entertaining section, a cat and a bunny converse in money-related catchphrases that are separately defined at the bottom of each page. Stevens’ watercolors are appropriately realistic and appealing, whether depicting Mellody’s pretend bank or Elizabeth II’s butler ironing a 10-pound note. Messages about money’s use as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself, ensure that readers will think about their own purposes for their savings. Mellody and John are Black.
A variety show brimming with esoteric and practical information. (index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781536224719
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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