Stimulating ventures into some of the world’s less accessible locales.
A select gallery of elusive flora and fauna, from living and extinct fossils to an orchid that only blooms underground.
Bright doesn’t stick too closely to his “hidden places” premise, instead including several easy-to-find creatures, such as horseshoe crabs and barn swallows. But nature lovers won’t mind, since his 24 profiles are long on mysteries and surprising facts—and are accompanied by Emmerson’s vivid, multihued linocut portraits. In sections titled “Above,” “Below,” and “Long Ago,” the author offers introductions to creatures as ubiquitous as brown rats and as rare as the yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse, which lives on the slopes of one volcano in the Andes and at a higher altitude than any other mammal in the world. Though the entries are brief, readers will come away with clear pictures of why each of Bright’s chosen subjects is unique and also about what remains to be discovered about many, such as how seeds produced by the western underground orchid are distributed or just what that Andean mouse can find to eat at such heights. Emmerson portrays the plants and animals in lively, naturalistic poses against detailed or textured backgrounds ranging from deep seas and black caves to bright, steep mountain crags and crowded cityscapes.
Stimulating ventures into some of the world’s less accessible locales. (map, glossary, illustrator’s note, index) (Nonfiction. 7-10)Pub Date: March 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781459842137
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.
This book is buzzing with trivia.
Follow a swarm of bees as they leave a beekeeper’s apiary in search of a new home. As the scout bees traverse the fields, readers are provided with a potpourri of facts and statements about bees. The information is scattered—much like the scout bees—and as a result, both the nominal plot and informational content are tissue-thin. There are some interesting facts throughout the book, but many pieces of trivia are too, well trivial, to prove useful. For example, as the bees travel, readers learn that “onion flowers are round and fluffy” and “fennel is a plant that is used in cooking.” Other facts are oversimplified and as a result are not accurate. For example, monofloral honey is defined as “made by bees who visit just one kind of flower” with no acknowledgment of the fact that bees may range widely, and swarm activity is described as a springtime event, when it can also occur in summer and early fall. The information in the book, such as species identification and measurement units, is directed toward British readers. The flat, thin-lined artwork does little to enhance the story, but an “I spy” game challenging readers to find a specific bee throughout is amusing.
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere. (Informational picture book. 8-10)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-500-65265-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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