Sketchy on the details but delivers a solidly worthy message grounded in biochemical fact.
A shoutout to the little molecules that make all of us virtually the same.
Since the DNA common to all life has large identical sections, “We share many features / with all living creatures,” Thompson points out in her often loose-jointed verse. “But there’s one that’s identical, / less point one percentical.” That would be every human: “Less point one percent,” she goes on, “we’re almost exact. / Almost DNA twins. / That’s a DNA fact!” If she sometimes lets enthusiasm get the better of accuracy—no, viruses aren’t generally considered living organisms even though some do contain DNA—her claim that our “shared DNA / makes us all family” is a strong one. Moreover, her comparison of DNA’s molecules to LEGO bricks in both the rhymed portion and the longer prose afterword to explain how DNA’s “chemical bricks” combine and recombine is a clear and effective choice of metaphor for younger audiences. Aside from a spiral border motif, Pizzoli doesn’t show DNA in action, but his cartoon scenes of a racially diverse group of busy children in classroom settings reflect the narrative’s energetic language and flow. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Sketchy on the details but delivers a solidly worthy message grounded in biochemical fact. (enrichment activities, resource lists) (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: April 25, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-42704-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2023
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 gleeful game for budding naturalists.
Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.
In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781728271170
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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