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IF THE WORLD WERE 100 ANIMALS

Name: IF THE WORLD WERE 100 ANIMALS
Author: Miranda Smith
ISBN: 978-0-593-37235-7

A VISUAL GUIDE TO EARTH'S AMAZING CREATURES

by Miranda Smith ; illustrated by Aaron Cushley ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 5, 2022

An eye-opening, and sometimes -widening, survey.

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Things to know about our planet’s animal kingdom, in easily digestible infographics.

Rightly judging that 20 quintillion (an estimate of how many animals live on Earth) is a number that is “hard to picture,” Smith reduces it to 100. In a hypothetical world of only 100 animals, Smith explains, six would be vertebrates and 94 invertebrates. If there were only 100 vertebrates in the world, 43 would be fish, 23 would be birds, 14 would be reptiles, 11 would be amphibians, and nine would be mammals. One hundred sea dwellers would include nine known species and (wait for it) 91 “still to be discovered.” Bringing in the human element, Smith charts animals that do or do not live in the wild (with a racially diverse set of 36 humans mischievously placed in the middle), that share our homes (“23 are cats”), that are deadly to us (mosquitoes lead by a large margin), and that, unless we do something, are most in danger of disappearing. As he did in a companion volume, Jackie McCann’s If the World Were 100 People (2021), Cushley gives literal visual dimension to the data by gathering realistically depicted images of tiny creatures, 100 per spread and done roughly to scale whenever feasible, in appropriately sized groups. Along with allowing viewers to grasp the relative proportions instantly, the arrangement, at once logical and ingenious, invites poring over the pages to identify individual species or just to appreciate their glorious diversity. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An eye-opening, and sometimes -widening, survey. (source list) (Informational picture book. 7-10)

Pub Date: July 5, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-593-37235-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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1001 BEES

by Joanna Rzezak ; illustrated by Joanna Rzezak ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 18, 2021

Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
1001 BIRDS
by Joanna Rzezak ; illustrated by Joanna Rzezak

- BOOK REVIEW
1001 ANTS
by Joanna Rzezak ; illustrated by Joanna Rzezak

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I AM GRAVITY

by Henry Herz ; illustrated by Mercè López ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 15, 2024

An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe.

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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)