Well-designed and meticulously detailed, this volume invites caring and activism.
From definitions to personal responsibility, this illustrated book covers our relationship with forests.
The text is organized into short chapters, beginning with descriptions of the different kinds of forests found on Earth; moving to the causes of, effects of, and solutions to deforestation; and ending with what individuals can do to decrease humans’ negative effects on forests and the environment. The text is presented in short paragraphs in a small font with subtitles. Smaller sentences placed around each spread give examples and specific details about the contents of the illustrations: animals that live in the different kinds of forests, the workings of a healthy forest, the lifestyles of Indigenous communities, and more. The book is incredibly detailed, and while everything included is fascinating, readers who don’t have the patience or interest to delve deep can learn the basics of the topic by reading only a main paragraph or two on each spread and browsing the pictures. The illustrations are clear, clean, colorful, and attractive, with racially and ethnically diverse people represented. While some of the suggested steps to take are basic and oft-repeated, some concrete suggestions are particularly useful, such as using the Forest Stewardship Council logo to guide purchases. A final page describes many different careers readers can choose to contribute to protecting forests. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11.7-by-18.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 62.8% of actual size.)
Well-designed and meticulously detailed, this volume invites caring and activism. (glossary) (Nonfiction. 5-10)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-78240-952-6
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Ivy Kids
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
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
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
