bookshelf

THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT

Name: THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT
Author: Laurence Pringle
ISBN: 0-688-15626-6

FROM ITS ROOTS TO THE CHALLENGES OF A NEW CENTURY

by Laurence Pringle ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2000

bookshelf

Laurence Pringle (Bats, 2000, etc.) has assembled a superior overview of the environmental movement from its inception to the present. He begins with North America's first folly, when the settlers arrived, facing a brutal, merciless land that seemed inexhaustibly abundant. Pringle leads us through the first steps of the environmental movement, when few realized the abundance was far from inexhaustible. He describes the onset of the naturalists and the conservationists who were lead by the likes of John Muir and put into political practice by Theodore Roosevelt. Pringle highlights the foremost individuals of the movement and includes illustrative photographs. Pringle never shies from being blunt about the treachery of some political leaders or corporations, but neither does he paint a portrait too heavily weighted on one side, rather offering a fine journalistic balance of facts without histrionics or pedantry. The book is so engrossing and even uplifting that when it finally arrives at the nineties it is a sad declaration that despite all that has been achieved, the planet and its creatures still face incredible peril in many forms. Written with clarity and resonance, this leaves the reader with a sense of progress as well as urgency for further change. (lists of ecosystem services, environmental and government agencies, further reading, index, not seen) (Nonfiction. 10-12)

Pub Date: March 31, 2000

ISBN: 0-688-15626-6

Page Count: 144

Publisher: HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SECRET LIFE OF THE FLYING SQUIRREL
by Laurence Pringle ; illustrated by Kate Garchinsky

- BOOK REVIEW
WOLVES!
by Laurence Pringle ; illustrated by Meryl Henderson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SECRET LIFE OF THE SEA OTTER
by Laurence Pringle ; illustrated by Kate Garchinsky

bookshelf

WEATHER

by Seymour Simon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1993

bookshelf

Remarking that ``nothing about the weather is very simple,'' Simon goes on to describe how the sun, atmosphere, earth's rotation, ground cover, altitude, pollution, and other factors influence it; briefly, he also tells how weather balloons gather information. Even for this outstanding author, it's a tough, complex topic, and he's not entirely successful in simplifying it; moreover, the import of the striking uncaptioned color photos here isn't always clear. One passage—``Cumulus clouds sometimes build up into towering masses called cumulus congestus, or swelling cumulus, which may turn into cumulonimbus clouds''—is superimposed on a blue-gray, cloud-covered landscape. But which kind of clouds are these? Another photo, in blue-black and white, shows what might be precipitation in the upper atmosphere, or rain falling on a darkened landscape, or...? Generally competent and certainly attractive, but not Simon's best. (Nonfiction. 10-12)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1993

ISBN: 0-688-10546-7

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1993

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
CLIMATE ACTION
by Seymour Simon

- BOOK REVIEW
DINOSAURS
by Seymour Simon

- BOOK REVIEW
INSECTS
by Seymour Simon

bookshelf

MONSTER MATH

by Anne Miranda & illustrated by Anne Miranda ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1999

bookshelf

Miranda’s book counts the monsters gathering at a birthday party, while a simple rhyming text keeps the tally and surveys the action: “Seven starved monsters are licking the dishes./Eight blow out candles and make birthday wishes.” The counting proceeds to ten, then by tens to fifty, then gradually returns to one, which makes the monster’s mother, a purple pin-headed octopus, very happy. The book is surprisingly effective due to Powell’s artwork; the color has texture and density, as if it were poured onto the page, but the real attention-getter is the singularity of every monster attendee. They are highly individual and, therefore, eminently countable. As the numbers start crawling upward, it is both fun and a challenge to try to recognize monsters who have appeared in previous pages, or to attempt to stay focused when counting the swirling or bunched creatures. The story has glints of humor, and in combination with the illustrations is a grand addition to the counting shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)