A history of transportation, indeed, and a book of wonders as well.
From putting one foot in front of the other to the X-37B space drone, Jackson and Shepherd combine to make the path of transportation as wiggly-wriggly as a night crawler—and as crazily alluring.
Using an extended graphic format, Jackson takes readers on a circuitous and enchanting journey from the first to the latest developments in mechanized transportation. His approach is unusual but quite successful in explaining how various elements, molecules, natural phenomena, and human brainpower brought us to the wheel—via cave painting, blue lava, the invention of smelting, and the combination of copper and tin to make bronze. (He will also mention Hercules and the Hydra’s halitosis along the way, because it’s fun and it has connections.) Shepherd keeps readers’ eyes active with a vast array of cartoon depictions flanking a linear highway between main events. The pages are equally populated with byways: readers also learn why we have a.m. and p.m., the importance of the number 60 to the Babylonians, and how a knot came to represent speed. Plus there are all the forms of transportation to cover: land, sea, wind, air, each with its own arcana—snails that attached themselves to the bottom of ships also brought us the fabled Phoenician royal purple (“although it was actually a deep red”), which led to the knockoff red made from cochineal bugs.
A history of transportation, indeed, and a book of wonders as well. (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-60992-956-5
Page Count: 80
Publisher: QEB Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
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
A variety show brimming with esoteric and practical information.
Two youngsters embark on a journey peppered with history, trivia, and skits while teaching money lessons.
Meet Mellody and John, the young stars of this currency showcase. Their very first dialogue offers a taste of the intriguing information to come, from the ancient Mayans’ use of cacao beans as payment to the origins of the piggy bank. The book offers a chronologically and geographically broad timeline of the history of money, encompassing the past 3.9 billion years (starting with meteorite crashes that scattered metals—“the very first bank deposit”) and referencing practices across five continents. Readers will find themselves eagerly sharing the facts gleaned here, including the centuries-old origins of terms and expressions still used today. Mellody and John’s fun banter crucially reflects their experiences with money, such as their families’ differing attitudes toward allowances. Both are savers as well as givers, sharing stories about giving to charity. In one especially entertaining section, a cat and a bunny converse in money-related catchphrases that are separately defined at the bottom of each page. Stevens’ watercolors are appropriately realistic and appealing, whether depicting Mellody’s pretend bank or Elizabeth II’s butler ironing a 10-pound note. Messages about money’s use as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself, ensure that readers will think about their own purposes for their savings. Mellody and John are Black.
A variety show brimming with esoteric and practical information. (index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781536224719
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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