An informative and engaging survey of aviation pioneers, perfect for kids, adult caregivers, and STEM educators.
Two grandparents convey the histories of famous fliers in Joseph Howard Cooper’s book.
As the book opens, a grandfather recounts the Wright Brothers’ journey—from their early birdwatching to their constructing wind tunnels for experiments and choosing North Carolina as an ideal flight-test site. Cooper touches on key themes of commitment, dedication, preparation, and perseverance while telling how the siblings outpaced their better-funded rivals. The book’s first part depicts a conversation between a granddad and grandson, interspersing dialogue with helpful clarifications of complex vocabulary, including terms such as equilibrium (“compensated for”) and altimeter to ensure that technical aspects of aviation are accessible for young readers. The detailed, full-color illustrations by Patricia DeWitt and Robin DeWitt will appeal to young audiences; the main characters are depicted as anthropomorphized animals in human clothing. The grandfather is a wise, jolly dog with white whiskers, and the grandson is an enthusiastic young reptile, often dressed in a karate gi. The book’s second part moves into a furry, rabbitlike grandmother’s story of Amelia Earhart, told to two young mammals who look like lion cubs. After a smooth transition, Earhart’s story begins with her visit to see the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kitty Hawk before moving into her historic solo flight across the Atlantic. This section hews closely to Earhart’s memoirs, including some of her most poetic descriptions of flying. In this way, Earhart’s pioneering spirit is effectively shown to inspire the gathered grandkids and is likely to similarly resonate with youngsters considering engineering or piloting careers. Detailed endnotes, including Earhart’s flight maps, links to online databases, and key primary source excerpts, help round out the book as a potentially useful teaching tool.
An informative and engaging survey of aviation pioneers, perfect for kids, adult caregivers, and STEM educators.Pub Date: Nov. 23, 2023
ISBN: 9781039176263
Page Count: 132
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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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