Children not lucky enough to participate in this program will appreciate this peek into the salmon life cycle.
Emmy and her classmates raise salmon from eggs to the fry stage.
The students learn about salmon in science class, paint colored fish cutouts in art class, play a predator-prey game in gym, make a list of descriptive words in the writing nook, spend time in the library reading about salmon’s significance to Indigenous peoples, and, in math class, figure out how far the average salmon might swim over the course of its life. As the weeks go by, the alevin hatch and eventually turn into fry. The students care for the fish by recording water temperatures, feeding the fry, and testing for water quality. Soon it’s time for Salmon Release Day. Emma and her classmates travel to a stream, inspect water samples, learn about invasive species, and practice casting and reeling fishing lines. Lastly, they name their fry, wish them well, and send them on their way. Godoy’s bright cartoon illustrations focus on how engaged the students are. Emmy has tan skin and a short brown bob. Her classmates are racially diverse and include a student who uses a wheelchair. Her teacher, Miss Harris, has brown skin and glasses. Backmatter includes an author’s note, an explanation of salmon life stages, and a glossary (though words in the text aren’t bolded).
Children not lucky enough to participate in this program will appreciate this peek into the salmon life cycle. (Informational picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9780807572917
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book.
Ada Twist’s incessant stream of questions leads to answers that help solve a neighborhood crisis.
Ada conducts experiments at home to answer questions such as, why does Mom’s coffee smell stronger than Dad’s coffee? Each answer leads to another question, another hypothesis, and another experiment, which is how she goes from collecting data on backyard birds for a citizen-science project to helping Rosie Revere figure out how to get her uncle Ned down from the sky, where his helium-filled “perilous pants” are keeping him afloat. The Questioneers—Rosie the engineer, Iggy Peck the architect, and Ada the scientist—work together, asking questions like scientists. Armed with knowledge (of molecules and air pressure, force and temperature) but more importantly, with curiosity, Ada works out a solution. Ada is a recognizable, three-dimensional girl in this delightfully silly chapter book: tirelessly curious and determined yet easily excited and still learning to express herself. If science concepts aren’t completely clear in this romp, relationships and emotions certainly are. In playful full- and half-page illustrations that break up the text, Ada is black with Afro-textured hair; Rosie and Iggy are white. A closing section on citizen science may inspire readers to get involved in science too; on the other hand, the “Ode to a Gas!” may just puzzle them. Other backmatter topics include the importance of bird study and the threat palm-oil use poses to rainforests.
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3422-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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