A ribbet-tickling roundabout for armchair astronauts and Magic School Bus grads.
Junior Science Heroes Polly and Tad join Uncle Albert in a tour of the local astronomical pond.
Fresh from exploring the Earth’s inward reaches in the series opener (2020), the three intrepid frog explorers hop aboard a rocket headed for the acid clouds of Venus and Mercury’s extremes of hot and cold. “From there,” Albert proclaims with characteristic grandiloquence, “we blast our way to…the VERY SUN ITSELF!” “Won’t we melt?” asks timorous Tad. “We’ll find out in two more chapters.” Spoiler alert: They don’t melt (unlike their fuel stores of “frozen dihydrogen monoxide,” i.e., water). In a rollicking tumble of narrow squeaks and basic science facts the voyage continues past planets and select moons all the way out to the Kuiper belt and back. Almost back, that is—thanks to an easily confused autopilot. (Tad: “Has the autopilot ever actually worked?” Albert: “Someday!” Ted: “I don’t think you answered my question.” Polly: “No, I think he did.”) Their unscheduled landing on the moon leaves the trio marveling at the view of a “big, beautiful blue planet called Earth.” The thick-lined cartoons on nearly every well-leaded page aren’t much for fine detail, but they do reflect the tongue-in-cheek tone. By way of a recap Polly and Tad add, respectively, personal notes and drawings at the end.
A ribbet-tickling roundabout for armchair astronauts and Magic School Bus grads. (Informational fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Feb. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-23018-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
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