Stunning photographs and descriptive text place readers right in the heart of the rainforest for a memorable journey that will leave them wanting more. Starting with what to wear and bring, this text stands out in that it even describes the process of getting to the rainforest—much more than a simple plane ride. In fact, the journey is part of the adventure. “You” are the traveler in this vibrant world—your guides the native peoples. With each stop, new plants and creatures await discovery. Readers will experience a thunderstorm, a flood, and the thrill of climbing a tree into the canopy—yet another world. This is where orchids grow, monkeys and parrots live, and frogs can spend their entire lives, depositing their eggs in the water collected in bromeliads. Each two-page spread takes the reader a little farther on the journey, while also focusing on one specific aspect of the rainforest—animal camouflage, survival, the forest floor. Knight also devotes one of these sections to the “Jigsaw Puzzle” that is the rainforest; all the pieces—the plants and animals—need to be in place to make the complete picture that is a healthy ecosystem. Knight’s descriptive text paints mental pictures, and the photographs are breathtaking. Pages cluttered with bits and pieces of text accompanying insets of smaller pictures and boxes tend to be busy, but clear type helps tone it down. Although it includes a glossary and index, this is much more than just the facts—it’s engrossing storytelling. (Nonfiction. 7-11)
Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2001
ISBN: 0-19-521751-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
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
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