A genial, inclusive ramble through the annals of invention.
Tours of imaginary spaces where 10 world-changing inventions were cooked up.
Thomas’ riveting mix of intricate timelines and broad, high-ceilinged workspaces—both excitingly packed with small but precisely drawn tools, plans, portraits, prototypes, working models on crowded shelves, and bins of bits and pieces waiting for assembly—instantly draw the eye. However, the quick snatches of history and description that Amos, former teen inventor and co-host of the YouTube channel “Kids Invent Stuff,” chucks in amid all the glorious clutter merit attention too. For each of the inventions, which range from clocks to computers, light bulbs and photography to methods of recording and broadcasting sound, the author offers quick overviews of essential components and significant evolutionary leaps on the way to today’s smartphones and TVs, GPS systems, internal combustion engines, and electric bicycles. She skips nearly all mention of negative effects these may have had on people or the environment. Still, with particular attention to female innovators and those of color, she makes the act of invention personal by directing nods to many historical notables: computer pioneers from Ada Lovelace to China’s Xia Peisu; mathematicians such as NASA’s Katherine Johnson and her colleagues; Black Canadian engineer Elijah J. “The Real” McCoy; and Mexican Modernist photographer Lola Álvarez Bravo, to name just a few.
A genial, inclusive ramble through the annals of invention. (glossary, further reading) (Nonfiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781419773488
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Magic Cat
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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