An excellent introduction to a familiar scientific puzzle.
Scientists and citizen scientists investigate monarch butterflies.
The first question was where the butterflies went in the fall. After the discovery of their wintering colonies in the oyamel forests of Mexico, the question changed to why their numbers have dwindled. Scientists point to a number of possible causes: weather variations and climate change; habitat reduction; herbicide use that has reduced the population of milkweed, where monarchs lay eggs and their caterpillars feed, and other wildflowers, where adult butterflies feed during migration; widespread use of neonicotinoid pesticides; and the rise of a disease due to garden planting of a winter-blooming milkweed species that encourages the butterflies to overwinter in Southern states. Hirsch, a former biologist and graceful science writer, explains the monarch life cycle and its complex migration clearly, setting the stage for her exploration of the many mysteries that still surround the population’s ups and downs. She stresses the hopeful fact that monarchs can bounce back relatively quickly, because they lay so many eggs, and she offers realistic options for readers to participate in research and to encourage butterflies. Her clear explanation is attractively presented, illustrated with stock photographs of butterflies and some human researchers (of varying ages and ethnicities) as well as with occasional appropriate charts, all supported by extensive backmatter. Sadly, the index is skimpy, a disservice.
An excellent introduction to a familiar scientific puzzle. (author’s note, glossary, further reading, become a citizen scientist, plant a butterfly garden, source notes, selected bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 9-14)Pub Date: March 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5124-5250-1
Page Count: 60
Publisher: Twenty-First Century/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Contentwise, an arbitrary assortment…but sure to draw fans of comics, of science, or of both.
Flash, Batman, and other characters from the DC Comics universe tackle supervillains and STEM-related topics and sometimes, both.
Credited to 20 writers and illustrators in various combinations, the 10 episodes invite readers to tag along as Mera and Aquaman visit oceanic zones from epipelagic to hadalpelagic; Supergirl helps a young scholar pick a science-project topic by taking her on a tour of the solar system; and Swamp Thing lends Poison Ivy a hand to describe how DNA works (later joining Swamp Kid to scuttle a climate-altering scheme by Arcane). In other episodes, various costumed creations explain the ins and outs of diverse large- and small-scale phenomena, including electricity, atomic structure, forensic techniques, 3-D printing, and the lactate threshold. Presumably on the supposition that the characters will be more familiar to readers than the science, the minilectures tend to start from simple basics, but the figures are mostly both redrawn to look more childlike than in the comics and identified only in passing. Drawing styles and page designs differ from chapter to chapter but not enough to interrupt overall visual unity and flow—and the cast is sufficiently diverse to include roles for superheroes (and villains) of color like Cyborg, Kid Flash, and the Latina Green Lantern, Jessica Cruz. Appended lists of websites and science-based YouTube channels, plus instructions for homespun activities related to each episode, point inspired STEM-winders toward further discoveries.
Contentwise, an arbitrary assortment…but sure to draw fans of comics, of science, or of both. (Graphic nonfiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77950-382-4
Page Count: 160
Publisher: DC
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hot on the heels of the well-received Leonardo da Vinci (2005) comes another agreeably chatty entry in the Giants of Science series. Here the pioneering physicist is revealed as undeniably brilliant, but also cantankerous, mean-spirited, paranoid and possibly depressive. Newton’s youth and annus mirabilis receive respectful treatment, the solitude enforced by family estrangement and then the plague seen as critical to the development of his thoughtful, methodical approach. His subsequent squabbles with the rest of the scientific community—he refrained from publishing one treatise until his rival was dead—further support the image of Newton as a scientific lone wolf. Krull’s colloquial treatment sketches Newton’s advances in clearly understandable terms without bogging the text down with detailed explanations. A final chapter on “His Impact” places him squarely in the pantheon of great thinkers, arguing that both his insistence on the scientific method and his theories of physics have informed all subsequent scientific thought. A bibliography, web site and index round out the volume; the lack of detail on the use of sources is regrettable in an otherwise solid offering for middle-grade students. (Biography. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-670-05921-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2006
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