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WE ARE HUMAN ANIMALS

Name: WE ARE HUMAN ANIMALS
Author: Rosie Haine
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5601-2

by Rosie Haine ; illustrated by Rosie Haine ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 7, 2023

A first-rate introduction to paleontology for young readers and a fine conversation sparker.

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We’re more closely related to our prehistoric ancestors than we realize.

The author opens this intriguing book provocatively—“We are human animals”—to introduce to readers a Paleolithic dark-skinned, dark-eyed family who lived in what’s now France circa 25,000 years ago. In clearly written prose, she supports her proposition that early people’s lifestyles were somewhat comparable to humans’ lives today. For example, this family’s and their neighbors’ lives were governed by the seasons and nature’s cycles; they banded together cooperatively; they were creative and made art and objects; they wondered about their world and used language. Such ideas will resonate with children, who will be fascinated to learn present-day humans are somewhat connected to very long-ago folk—and, in some ways, may still be compared to them. Adults presenting this volume should encourage kids to discuss their ideas about commonalities shared by present-day and prehistoric people and to consider the author’s use of animals to describe humans and whether they believe this word choice is apt. The digital illustrations, enhanced with handmade textures, are colorful and evocative; children will enjoy the realistic, warm scenes of the prehistoric world and appreciate the similarities portrayed between the worlds of then and now. Endpapers feature faces of racially diverse people. Excellent backmatter concludes the book. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A first-rate introduction to paleontology for young readers and a fine conversation sparker. (author’s note, examples of prehistoric artifacts) (Informational picture book. 5-9)

Pub Date: March 7, 2023

ISBN: 978-0-8028-5601-2

Page Count: 52

Publisher: Eerdmans

Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL SCIENCES

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ANIMAL ARCHITECTS

From the Amazing Animals series

by Amy Cherrix ; illustrated by Chris Sasaki ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 7, 2021

An arguable error of omission and definite errors of commission sink this otherwise attractive effort.

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A look at the unique ways that 11 globe-spanning animal species construct their homes.

Each creature garners two double-page spreads, which Cherrix enlivens with compelling and at-times jaw-dropping facts. The trapdoor spider constructs a hidden burrow door from spider silk. Sticky threads, fanning from the entrance, vibrate “like a silent doorbell” when walked upon by unwitting insect prey. Prairie dogs expertly dig communal burrows with designated chambers for “sleeping, eating, and pooping.” The largest recorded “town” occupied “25,000 miles and housed as many as 400 million prairie dogs!” Female ants are “industrious insects” who can remove more than a ton of dirt from their colony in a year. Cathedral termites use dirt and saliva to construct solar-cooled towers 30 feet high. Sasaki’s lively pictures borrow stylistically from the animal compendiums of mid-20th-century children’s lit; endpapers and display type elegantly suggest the blues of cyanotypes and architectural blueprints. Jarringly, the lead spread cheerfully extols the prowess of the corals of the Great Barrier Reef, “the world’s largest living structure,” while ignoring its accelerating, human-abetted destruction. Calamitously, the honeybee hive is incorrectly depicted as a paper-wasps’ nest, and the text falsely states that chewed beeswax “hardens into glue to shape the hive.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An arguable error of omission and definite errors of commission sink this otherwise attractive effort. (selected sources) (Informational picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-5344-5625-9

Page Count: 56

Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: July 5, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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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)