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IF YOU LOVE HONEY

Name: IF YOU LOVE HONEY
Author: Martha Sullivan
ISBN: 978-1-58469-533-2

by Martha Sullivan ; illustrated by Cathy Morrison ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2015

A neat look at connections many children can see in action

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A cycle of logical syllogisms takes readers from the title stipulation through a series of conclusions that ends at the beginning.

It’s hard to argue with the logic. “If you love honey, / Then you must love honey bees. // If you love honey bees, / It’s no wonder you love dandelions.” Each statement appears on a double-page spread accompanied by a related fact: bees must visit about 2 million flowers to produce a pound of honey, for instance. The chain of affection extends from dandelions to ladybugs to goldenrod to butterflies to clover to the soil to earthworms to mushrooms to oak trees to blue jays to blackberries and back to honeybees and honey. While some of the connections are a bit of a stretch, the short explanatory text generally explains the logic, and it is summarized in the backmatter. Morrison’s illustrations are crisp if a bit on the stiff side, and they include many details not mentioned in the text, such as a family of bears on a honey raid fleeing angry guard bees and a whole host of insects, amphibians, and other fauna that inhabit this bucolic environment. The beekeeper is assisted by an African-American child, who shares a picnic with her Caucasian friend, who provides the berries. Copious backmatter provides further information on pollination, honeybees and other beneficial insects, and flowers and seed spreaders, as well as activities and Web resources.

A neat look at connections many children can see in action . (Informational picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-58469-533-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Dawn Publications

Review Posted Online: June 22, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
PITTER AND PATTER
by Martha Sullivan ; illustrated by Cathy Morrison

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THE TOAD

From the Disgusting Critters series

by Elise Gravel ; illustrated by Elise Gravel ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 5, 2016

A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor

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Having surveyed worms, spiders, flies, and head lice, Gravel continues her Disgusting Critters series with a quick hop through toad fact and fancy.

The facts are briefly presented in a hand-lettered–style typeface frequently interrupted by visually emphatic interjections (“TOXIN,” “PREY,” “EWWW!”). These are, as usual, paired to simply drawn cartoons with comments and punch lines in dialogue balloons. After casting glances at the common South American ancestor of frogs and toads, and at such exotic species as the Emei mustache toad (“Hey ladies!”), Gravel focuses on the common toad, Bufo bufo. Using feminine pronouns throughout, she describes diet and egg-laying, defense mechanisms, “warts,” development from tadpole to adult, and of course how toads shed and eat their skins. Noting that global warming and habitat destruction have rendered some species endangered or extinct, she closes with a plea and, harking back to those South American origins, an image of an outsized toad, arm in arm with a dark-skinned lad (in a track suit), waving goodbye: “Hasta la vista!”

A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor . (Informational picture book. 5-7)

Pub Date: July 5, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-77049-667-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Tundra Books

Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
THIS IS MY BRAIN!
by Elise Gravel ; illustrated by Elise Gravel

- BOOK REVIEW
EVERYBODY!
by Elise Gravel ; illustrated by Elise Gravel

- BOOK REVIEW
KILLER UNDERWEAR INVASION!
by Elise Gravel ; illustrated by Elise Gravel

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KNIGHT OWL AND EARLY BIRD

From the Knight Owl series , Vol. 2

by Christopher Denise ; illustrated by Christopher Denise ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 2024

An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts.

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Can knightly deeds bring together a feathered odd couple who are on opposite daily schedules?

Having won over a dragon (and millions of fans) in the Caldecott Honor–winning Knight Owl (2022), the fierce yet impossibly cute nocturnal, armor-clad owlet faces a new challenge—sleep deprivation—in the wake of taking on Early Bird, a trainee who rises with the sun and chatters interminably: “I made pancakes! Do you like pancakes? I love pancakes! Where’s the syrup?” It’s enough to test the patience of even the knightliest of owls, and eventually Knight Owl explodes in anger. But although Early Bird is even smaller than her mentor, she turns out to be just as determined to achieve knighthood. After he tells her to leave, she acquits herself so nobly in a climactic encounter with a pack of wolves that she earns a place at the castle. Denise proves a dab hand at depicting genuinely slinky, scary wolves as well as slipping cheerfully anachronistic newspapers and other sight gags into his realistically wrought medieval settings to underscore the tale’s tongue-in-cheek tone. Better yet, a final view of the doughty duo sitting down together to a lavish pancake breakfast/dinner at dusk ends the episode in a sweet rush of syrup and bonhomie.

An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts. (Picture book. 5-8)