Amiable if generalized commentary paired with breathtaking visuals.
A stroll through a Malaysian rainforest, with a voluble tour guide to point out salient features.
As in Jenkins and White’s previous collaborations Ape (2007) and Can We Save The Tiger? (2011), the author writes as if he’s casually talking off the top of his head, and the illustrator’s photorealistic art completely steals the show. Identifying the locale as Taman Negara, the author glibly reels off all kinds of unseen but resident animals—including “sixty-six kinds of frogs (more or less),” “eighty kinds of bats (roughly),” and “goodness knows how many kinds of beetles (I certainly don’t)”—describes a few sounds, and explains how tree seeds are spread through animal poop. That all of this is printed in a hair-fine typeface makes it even easier to ignore in favor of poring over full or three-quarter spread paintings, mostly monochrome, in which every twig and bug-eaten leaf is rendered with convincing exactitude, tree trunks viewed through misty, humid light soar up beyond the frames, and in close-up views, tropical insects and tiny frogs hide amid thick tangles of ground-level stems and fronds. Larger creatures, from hornbills and butterflies to an elephant and a prowling clouded leopard, appear, too, often in pictures that have been given subdued tints like old hand-colored photographs. The author closes with a note stating that this particular forest is protected but similar habitats elsewhere are in danger, and the illustrator provides a visual key at the end to the wildlife on display. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Amiable if generalized commentary paired with breathtaking visuals. (index, map, resource list) (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1120-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe.
An introduction to gravity.
The book opens with the most iconic demonstration of gravity, an apple falling. Throughout, Herz tackles both huge concepts—how gravity compresses atoms to form stars and how black holes pull all kinds of matter toward them—and more concrete ones: how gravity allows you to jump up and then come back down to the ground. Gravity narrates in spare yet lyrical verse, explaining how it creates planets and compresses atoms and comparing itself to a hug. “My embrace is tight enough that you don’t float like a balloon, but loose enough that you can run and leap and play.” Gravity personifies itself at times: “I am stubborn—the bigger things are, the harder I pull.” Beautiful illustrations depict swirling planets and black holes alongside racially diverse children playing, running, and jumping, all thanks to gravity. Thorough backmatter discusses how Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity and explains Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. While at times Herz’s explanations may be a bit too technical for some readers, burgeoning scientists will be drawn in.
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe. (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: April 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668936849
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tilbury House
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A lighthearted first look at an increasingly useful skill.
Grown-ups may not be the only audience for this simple explanation of how algorithms work.
Taking a confused-looking hipster parent firmly in hand, a child first points to all the computers around the house (“Pro Tip: When dealing with grown-ups, don’t jump into the complicated stuff too fast. Start with something they already know”). Next, the child leads the adult outside to make and follow step-by-step directions for getting to the park, deciding which playground equipment to use, and finally walking home. Along the way, concepts like conditionals and variables come into play in street maps and diagrams, and a literal bug stands in for the sort that programmers will inevitably need to find and solve. The lesson culminates in an actual sample of very simple code with labels that unpack each instruction…plus a pop quiz to lay out a decision tree for crossing the street, because if “your grown-up can explain it, that shows they understand it!” That goes for kids, too—and though Spiro doesn’t take the logical next step and furnish leads to actual manuals, young (and not so young) fledgling coders will find plenty of good ones around, such as Get Coding! (2017), published by Candlewick, or Rachel Ziter’s Coding From Scratch (2018).
A lighthearted first look at an increasingly useful skill. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2023
ISBN: 9781623543181
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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