Science lovers and would-be magicians will have a great time with this compendium of tricks based on scientific principles. All tricks use household items and with few exceptions can be successfully completed without adult assistance. For each project the author provides, “What you need,” “What to do” and “How it works.” “Eggs with Legs” demonstrates the Bernoulli Effect, moving an egg from one shot glass to another without touching it; “Bouncing Basketballs” explores Newton’s Laws of Motion; and a plastic milk bottle becomes an Air Cannon, or in scientific terms, a vortex generator. Some helpful tips for non-magicians too: To avoid a soda spray when opening a can that has been shaken, tap three times on the side of the can before opening. The pressurized co2 will rush to the top, and the soda will not spray out. Text boxes provide additional explanations of how things work; for example, “Eye Fooling” describes how human eyes and brains work together making tricks that fool the eye possible. Humorous drawings on every page extend the text and keep the reader turning pages. Good fun and good science. (glossary of scientific terms, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: May 1, 2005
ISBN: 1-57990-622-2
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
An impressive sequel.
Boy and fox follow separate paths in postwar rebuilding.
A year after Peter finds refuge with former soldier Vola, he prepares to leave to return to his childhood home. He plans to join the Junior Water Warriors, young people repurposing the machines and structures of war to reclaim reservoirs and rivers poisoned in the conflict, and then to set out on his own to live apart from others. At 13, Peter is competent and self-contained. Vola marvels at the construction of the floor of the cabin he’s built on her land, but the losses he’s sustained have left a mark. He imposes a penance on himself, reimagining the story of rescuing the orphaned kit Pax as one in which he follows his father’s counsel to kill the animal before he could form a connection. He thinks of his heart as having a stone inside it. Pax, meanwhile, has fathered three kits who claim his attention and devotion. Alternating chapters from the fox’s point of view demonstrate Pax’s care for his family—his mate, Bristle; her brother; and the three kits. Pax becomes especially attached to his daughter, who accompanies him on a journey that intersects with Peter’s and allows Peter to not only redeem his past, but imagine a future. This is a deftly nuanced look at the fragility and strength of the human heart. All the human characters read as White. Illustrations not seen.
An impressive sequel. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-293034-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
Remarking that ``nothing about the weather is very simple,'' Simon goes on to describe how the sun, atmosphere, earth's rotation, ground cover, altitude, pollution, and other factors influence it; briefly, he also tells how weather balloons gather information. Even for this outstanding author, it's a tough, complex topic, and he's not entirely successful in simplifying it; moreover, the import of the striking uncaptioned color photos here isn't always clear. One passage—``Cumulus clouds sometimes build up into towering masses called cumulus congestus, or swelling cumulus, which may turn into cumulonimbus clouds''—is superimposed on a blue-gray, cloud-covered landscape. But which kind of clouds are these? Another photo, in blue-black and white, shows what might be precipitation in the upper atmosphere, or rain falling on a darkened landscape, or...? Generally competent and certainly attractive, but not Simon's best. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-688-10546-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1993
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