Readers will not want to miss this migration story.
The amazing migration of a murre chick, hatched in the Arctic and combining swimming and flying for a journey unique in the bird world.
Nesting high on cliffs that tower above the sea, murres gather in the thousands, nesting pairs taking turns guarding the egg from predators and keeping it warm and then feeding the chick once hatched. The book follows the titular chick as he grows through late summer. On a night with a full moon, the fathers and chicks leap off the cliffs into the sea. The young birds cannot yet fly and will start their migrations by swimming with their fathers. Along the route, Akpa grows stronger, learns important skills, and meets a narwhal, a walrus, and a seal, all of whom give him advice that comes in handy several weeks later when it’s at last time for Akpa to take to the skies to finish his journey. This relatively unknown migration will fascinate readers who are mature enough to sit through the rather lengthy text, and the language will captivate: Winter would soon be “slowly stitching the waves together with ice.” “Fish darted like silver needles sewing a silky blue gown.” The blockiness of the cliffs lends a nice visual texture to the slightly stylized artwork, especially against the blues of the sky and sea. Dialogue uses italicized text rather than quotation marks, and the endnote contains additional vital information. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Readers will not want to miss this migration story. (range map, glossary of Inuktut words) (Informational picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-77227-429-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Inhabit Media
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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