Under an African sky, the breathtaking mountain sits and sleeps, crowned in ice. On grasslands spread out at the foot of the...
The great mountain supports a complex system of flora and fauna.
Under an African sky, the breathtaking mountain sits and sleeps, crowned in ice. On grasslands spread out at the foot of the mountain, vast herds of wildlife, from elephants to zebras to baboons, graze. It's also where "the Masai make their homesteads." In the foothills, Chagga women tend "their shambas, / of bananas and yams." Higher up the mountain there are forests, with troops of "catapaulting colobus" and, even higher, a waterfall and small streams where the "shy Suni antelope" and bush pigs and elands dwell. Continuing up to mists and moorland, wild dogs and buffalo and ravens mingle. Even higher is an alpine desert with stones and expanses of grey scree, with mole rats, leopard and striped mice. And at the very top is a "strange lunar landscape,… an alien ice world" of glaciers and powerful winds that sculpt the ice. "Clouded in mystery, / created in fire. / This is Mount Kilimanjaro." Moss' free verse is powerful and lyrical. Kennaway's watercolors echo the elegance of the writing, though the images seem targeted to a younger audience; not an ideal match for the sophistication of the text or the subject. The last two pages offer a more extensive and prosaic explanation of the climactic and topographic nature of the mountain.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-84507-984-0
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
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
The story feels a bit contrived, but Ada will be a welcome addition to the small circle of science-loving girls in the...
Using science and technology, third-grader Ada Lace kicks off her new series by solving a mystery even with her leg in a cast.
Temporarily housebound after a badly executed bungee jump, Ada uses binoculars to document the ecosystem of her new neighborhood in San Francisco. She records her observations in a field journal, a project that intrigues new friend Nina, who lives nearby. When they see that Ms. Reed’s dog, Marguerite, is missing, they leap to the conclusion that it has been stolen. Nina does the legwork and Ada provides the technology for their search for the dognapper. Story-crafting takes a back seat to scene-setting in this series kickoff that introduces the major players. As part of the series formula, science topics and gadgetry are integrated into the stories and further explained in a “Behind the Science” afterword. This installment incorporates drones, a wireless camera, gecko gloves, and the Turing test as well as the concept of an ecosystem. There are no ethnic indicators in the text, but the illustrations reveal that Ada, her family, and bratty neighbor Milton are white; Nina appears to be Southeast Asian; and Mr. Peebles, an inventor who lives nearby, is black.
The story feels a bit contrived, but Ada will be a welcome addition to the small circle of science-loving girls in the chapter-book world. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-8599-9
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
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