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WHAT DO ROOTS DO

Name: WHAT DO ROOTS DO
Author: Kathleen V. Kudlinski
ISBN: 1-55971-896-X

by Kathleen V. Kudlinski & illustrated by David Schuppert ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2005

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Casting her text into verse to no obvious purpose or benefit, Kudlinski offers only a partial answer to the title question. Bypassing such topics as the role of roots in absorbing nutrients, how they fit into underground ecosystems and much besides, she confines herself to four points: They hold plants in place; take in water; will “probably” kill the plant if broken off; and are sometimes edible. Though his smiling young gardeners are awkwardly drawn, Schuppert does offer artfully angled cutaway views of lush flowers and foliage above, spreading root systems below—providing some visual appeal while effectively showing that there’s more to plants than meets the eye. But younger naturalists will absorb more from the likes of Allan Fowler’s Taking Root (2000) or the plethora of more widely focused accounts of how plants grow. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-7)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2005

ISBN: 1-55971-896-X

Page Count: 32

Publisher: NorthWord

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2005

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
BOY, WERE WE WRONG ABOUT THE HUMAN BODY!
by Kathleen V. Kudlinski ; illustrated by Debbie Tilley

- BOOK REVIEW
BOY, WERE WE WRONG ABOUT THE WEATHER!
by Kathleen V. Kudlinski ; illustrated by Sebastià Serra

- BOOK REVIEW
BOY, WERE WE WRONG ABOUT THE SOLAR SYSTEM!
by Kathleen V. Kudlinski & illustrated by John Rocco

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WATER

by Frank Asch & edited by Frank Asch ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1995

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``Water is dew. Water is ice and snow.'' No matter what form it takes, seldom has plain old water appeared so colorful as in this rainbow-hued look at rain, dew, snowflakes, clouds, rivers, floods, and seas. Asch celebrates water's many forms with a succinct text and lush paintings done in mostly in softly muted watercolors of aqua, green, rose, blue, and yellow. They look as if they were created with a wet-on-wet technique that makes every hue lightly bleed into its neighbor. Water appears as ribbons of color, one sliding into the other, while objects that are not (in readers' minds) specifically water-like—trees, rocks, roots—are similarly colored. Perhaps the author intends to show water is everything and everything is water, but the concept is not fully realized for this age group. The whole is charming, but more successful as art than science. Though catalogued as nonfiction, this title will be better off in the picture book section. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-7)

Pub Date: March 1, 1995

ISBN: 0-15-200189-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1995

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
TACOS
by Frank Asch ; illustrated by Frank Asch

- BOOK REVIEW
PANCAKES IN PAJAMAS
by Frank Asch ; illustrated by Frank Asch

- BOOK REVIEW
THE LENDING ZOO
by Frank Asch ; illustrated by Frank Asch

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ROBOBABY

by David Wiesner ; illustrated by David Wiesner ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2020

A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy.

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Robo-parents Diode and Lugnut present daughter Cathode with a new little brother—who requires, unfortunately, some assembly.

Arriving in pieces from some mechanistic version of Ikea, little Flange turns out to be a cute but complicated tyke who immediately falls apart…and then rockets uncontrollably about the room after an overconfident uncle tinkers with his basic design. As a squad of helpline techies and bevies of neighbors bearing sludge cake and like treats roll in, the cluttered and increasingly crowded scene deteriorates into madcap chaos—until at last Cath, with help from Roomba-like robodog Sprocket, stages an intervention by whisking the hapless new arrival off to a backyard workshop for a proper assembly and software update. “You’re such a good big sister!” warbles her frazzled mom. Wiesner’s robots display his characteristic clean lines and even hues but endearingly look like vaguely anthropomorphic piles of random jet-engine parts and old vacuum cleaners loosely connected by joints of armored cable. They roll hither and thither through neatly squared-off panels and pages in infectiously comical dismay. Even the end’s domestic tranquility lasts only until Cathode spots the little box buried in the bigger one’s packing material: “TWINS!” (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 52% of actual size.)

A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy. (Picture book. 5-7)