A fun and fact-filled look at footwear that will find its audience.
The history of what nearly everyone wears on their feet.
This brisk account moves from a description of ancient woven bark sandals discovered in Oregon in 1938 to the use of latex by Mayan and Olmec peoples to the incorporation of rubber into the soles of shoes for croquet players to footwear endorsements by athletes like Michael Jordan. Bright colors feature throughout the exuberant cartoon drawings along with plenty of sidebars and photos spotlighting diverse people, both famous and everyday. Drimmer covers the history of familiar brands and logos—the rivalry between the Dassler brothers, who founded Adidas and Puma; the development of Blue Ribbon Sports into Nike; the reason that Converse shoes carry the name Chuck Taylor. She avoids discussing economic, human-capital concerns about the manufacture of what are often hugely expensive and collectible shoes. An intriguing chapter on future developments for sneakers mentions the sound-absorbent sneakers that T’Challa wears in Black Panther and a real-life attempt at making a similarly quiet pair. The narrative is a bit thin (and neither source notes nor suggestions for further exploration are offered), but overall, it’s a clear, close-up look at an invention (versatile, comfortable shoes) that captures affection and loyalty, plus an exhortation to young innovators to think about their own spin on the product. It’s also an interesting examination of the ways that professional athletics and personal exercise have evolved over the last century.
A fun and fact-filled look at footwear that will find its audience. (timeline, glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: April 18, 2023
ISBN: 9781454944966
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
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
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
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