Readers (and Marjory) deserve better.
A visually rich look at the life of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, a champion of the Everglades.
Vivid and lush, done in acrylic ink and colored pencil, the illustrations immediately greet readers with skies full of birds and flowers that create a horticultural rainbow. Alas, the bold, folk-style illustrations that provide so much visual interest cannot save a problematic text about a noteworthy woman. Vague, suggestive lines pepper the narrative, leading to more questions than answers: “…it would be a long time before Marjory felt the southern sunlight again. Or her father’s warm hug.” With no mention of a family separation to help them along, readers will be puzzled. “Finally, she found her voice. It wasn’t her father’s voice, her mother’s voice, or Aunt Fanny’s. It was entirely the voice of Marjory Stoneman Douglas.” Readers will wonder, did any of those people try to silence her? Her father (now back in the story) gave her the reporting job where she found that voice and used it to advocate for women’s suffrage. Marjory “became an activist” in her later years. But what was all of her advocacy prior to that? The fatal flaw of the text, however, lies in its promotion of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, a white woman, as leader of the charge to save the Everglades, reducing the work of the Miccosukee and Seminole tribes (and countless others) to a sentence in the author’s note. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Readers (and Marjory) deserve better. (timeline, environmental tips, sources, additional resources) (Picture book/biography. 6-10)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3154-6
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2020
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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