Attractively presented information that could make dining on bugs more palatable.
Yum, some delicious grub…yes, literally.
After defining bugs as “the tiny creatures that are also known as arthropods,” French explains their important roles in the ecosystem, discusses the most commonly eaten bugs (and how they are farmed), and includes a recipe for cricket brownies (she suggests readers try a taste test against a boxed mix). The author makes a solid case for chowing down on creepy-crawlies. She compares the efficiency of farming bugs vs. larger livestock, noting that cows and pigs require more food and space relative to the meat they yield; these larger animals also produce far more greenhouse gases. While many readers may be grossed out at the book’s premise, a map indicates countries where they are relished, and the author notes that farming insects might be a good option for astronauts colonizing other planets. Bugs can even be added discreetly to some recipes. French covers their nutritional value and explores sustainability issues in accessible detail. Experts might contest a graph that shows the projected world population continuing to rise past the year 2110; the United Nations anticipates that growth will peak in the 2080s. And nowhere in the book does French cite an average human’s basic required protein-consumption level—a need that could also be met by a vegetarian diet (or ovo/pescatarian variations). Still, the bright, colorful, well-designed graphics effectively convey complex information, and the text is clear and reader-friendly.
Attractively presented information that could make dining on bugs more palatable. (Nonfiction. 5-9)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781464220937
Page Count: 48
Publisher: duopress/Sourcebooks
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2025
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
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