A worthy continuation of a stellar series.
Although it barks, a Mexican prairie dog is not a canine.
While the “perrito llanero” once dug underground colonies in grasslands from Mexico to Canada, their population declined as farmers took over their lands and culled many of the animals. Interspersed with Spanish words, this clever tribute to an endangered rodent is woven with introductions to shapes. At birth, the prairie dog is a “tiny, hairless thing, nuzzling its mamá with the triángulo of its nose.” As it grows and joins other pups, they eat “grass and plants with their sharp rectángulos for teeth.” Though these animals face perils from humans, they also have allies. A diverse group of schoolchildren on a field trip learn about the prairie dogs and are spurred to help protect them, getting out their “papel cuadrado” (paper in the shape of a square) and writing letters. Their efforts pay off, and a “No farming” sign soon goes up. Now, “as far as those óvalo-shaped eyes can see, there are prairie dogs and prairie dogs and prairie dogs.” Like the creators’ previous titles—Not a Bean (2019) and Not a Monster (2023)—this is a playful look at a potentially misunderstood creature. González’s earth-toned illustrations are both “aw”-inspiring and meticulously detailed, especially the cutaway images of the underground homes. A celebration of environmental action, a look at a most fascinating rodent, and an exploration of Spanish shape words—this one succeeds on all fronts.
A worthy continuation of a stellar series. (Spanish-English glossary, author’s note) (Informational picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: June 17, 2025
ISBN: 9781623543044
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
Erupt into applause for this picture book of the first magma-tude.
A deceptively simple, visually appealing, comprehensive explanation of volcanoes.
Gibbons packs an impressive number of facts into this browsable nonfiction picture book. The text begins with the awe of a volcanic eruption: “The ground begins to rumble…ash, hot lava and rock, and gases shoot up into the air.” Diagrams of the Earth’s structural layers—inner and outer core, mantle, and crust—undergird a discussion about why volcanoes occur. Simple maps of the Earth’s seven major tectonic plates show where volcanoes are likeliest to develop. Other spreads with bright, clearly labeled illustrations cover intriguing subtopics: four types of volcanoes and how they erupt; underwater volcanoes; well-known volcanoes and historic volcanic eruptions around the world; how to be safe in the vicinity of a volcano; and the work of scientists studying volcanoes and helping to predict eruptions. A page of eight facts about volcanoes wraps things up. The straightforward, concise prose will be easy for young readers to follow. As always, Gibbons manages to present a great deal of information in a compact form.
Erupt into applause for this picture book of the first magma-tude. (Nonfiction picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4569-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
A gleeful game for budding naturalists.
Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.
In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781728271170
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
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