Given the ubiquity of container transport, this arresting effort is a necessary addition to things-that-go shelves.
A shipment of books from Hong Kong to New York City provides a focus for this exploration of cargo transport via container ship.
The red-and-black hull of the ship commands attention against white or pale-gray backgrounds as it’s piled high with blue, orange, green, and gray containers. The color scheme and graphical simplicity inevitably recall Donald Crews’ Freight Train (1978), as does the ship’s unvarying left-to-right orientation and its visual dominance of nearly every single double-page spread. Linn’s text takes two forms: a simple narrative of the action depicted on the page (“Tugboats point the bow of the ship out toward the Pacific Ocean”) and two patterned statements per spread, each containing a pair of, usually, opposite terms: “Every PULL has a PUSH. Every OFF has an ON.” Most of these opposing concepts are clearly illustrated; for instance, the tugboats, tiny against the enormous ship, embody push and pull. Others invite conversation: The containers are clearly on the ship, but what is off? The ship’s four-week journey takes it through the “engineering wonder” that is the Panama Canal; its “series of canal locks” is depicted in cross-section, but it will be up to adult readers to explain exactly what locks are or how they work, since no glossary or other backup information is included.
Given the ubiquity of container transport, this arresting effort is a necessary addition to things-that-go shelves. (Informational picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: July 9, 2024
ISBN: 9781623544843
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
A solid addition to Rotner’s seasonal series. Bring on summer.
Rotner follows up her celebrations of spring and autumn with this look at all things winter.
Beginning with the signs that winter is coming—bare trees, shorter days, colder temperatures—Rotner eases readers into the season. People light fires and sing songs on the solstice, trees and plants stop growing, and shadows grow long. Ice starts to form on bodies of water and windows. When the snow flies, the fun begins—bundle up and then build forts, make snowballs and snowmen (with eyebrows!), sled, ski (nordic is pictured), skate, snowshoe, snowboard, drink hot chocolate. Animals adapt to the cold as well. “Birds grow more feathers” (there’s nothing about fluffing and air insulation) and mammals, more hair. They have to search for food, and Rotner discusses how many make or find shelter, slow down, hibernate, or go underground or underwater to stay warm. One page talks about celebrating holidays with lights and decorations. The photos show a lit menorah, an outdoor deciduous tree covered in huge Christmas bulbs, a girl next to a Chinese dragon head, a boy with lit luminarias, and some fireworks. The final spread shows signs of the season’s shift to spring. Rotner’s photos, as always, are a big draw. The children are a marvelous mix of cultures and races, and all show their clear delight with winter.
A solid addition to Rotner’s seasonal series. Bring on summer. (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3976-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
A good choice for a late fall storytime.
Animal behaviors change as they prepare to face the winter.
Migrate, hibernate, or tolerate. With smooth rhymes and jaunty illustrations, Salas and Gévry introduce three strategies animals use for coping with winter cold. The author’s long experience in imparting information to young readers is evident in her selection of familiar animals and in her presentation. Spread by spread she introduces her examples, preparing in fall and surviving in winter. She describes two types of migration: Hummingbirds and monarchs fly, and blue whales travel to the warmth of the south; earthworms burrow deeper into the earth. Without using technical words, she introduces four forms of hibernation—chipmunks nap and snack; bears mainly sleep; Northern wood frogs become an “icy pop,” frozen until spring; and normally solitary garter snakes snuggle together in huge masses. Those who can tolerate the winter still change behavior. Mice store food and travel in tunnels under the snow; moose grow a warmer kind of fur; the red fox dives into the snow to catch small mammals (like those mice); and humans put on warm clothes and play. The animals in the soft pastel illustrations are recognizable, more cuddly than realistic, and quite appealing; their habitats are stylized. The humans represent varied ethnicities. Each page includes two levels of text, and there’s further information in the extensive backmatter. Pair with Joyce Sidman and Rick Allen’s Winter Bees (2014).
A good choice for a late fall storytime. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5415-2900-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
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