Amiable glimpses of flights across the friendly, and not so friendly, skies.
Fleets of sharply depicted early, modern, and theoretical gliders, balloons, jets, and other aircraft send this overview speeding down the runway.
“It started with Icarus.” Beginning with this mythical flight—and crash—a grizzled grandpa squires two grandchildren through a chronicle of airborne ups and downs, from ancient Chinese military kites and later European hot air balloons, past the Wright brothers and other early aviators successful and otherwise, to galleries of 20th-century war planes, modern passenger jets, and helicopters of diverse design. Pausing along the way for close-up examinations of the anatomy and aerodynamics of bird wings, how engines work, and other fundamentals, the tour concludes with an infographic timeline that, though it ends in 2007, memorably recaps most of the preceding content in one sweeping visual. Aside from briefly touting dirigibles as eco-friendly alternatives, the author glides silently past the environmental costs of conventional aircraft. Still, his gallery of notable figures does include ninth-century experimenter Abbas ibn Firnas (“Although he broke a few bones, he’s credited with making one of the first parachute jumps”) and other undersung innovators worldwide; for truly insatiable fans of flight, he recommends several more comprehensive histories. Human figures in the illustrations are predominantly male but racially diverse. The grandfather is tan-skinned; one grandchild is brown-skinned, while the other is pale-skinned.
Amiable glimpses of flights across the friendly, and not so friendly, skies. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: July 8, 2025
ISBN: 9788000074603
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Albatros Media
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe.
An introduction to gravity.
The book opens with the most iconic demonstration of gravity, an apple falling. Throughout, Herz tackles both huge concepts—how gravity compresses atoms to form stars and how black holes pull all kinds of matter toward them—and more concrete ones: how gravity allows you to jump up and then come back down to the ground. Gravity narrates in spare yet lyrical verse, explaining how it creates planets and compresses atoms and comparing itself to a hug. “My embrace is tight enough that you don’t float like a balloon, but loose enough that you can run and leap and play.” Gravity personifies itself at times: “I am stubborn—the bigger things are, the harder I pull.” Beautiful illustrations depict swirling planets and black holes alongside racially diverse children playing, running, and jumping, all thanks to gravity. Thorough backmatter discusses how Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity and explains Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. While at times Herz’s explanations may be a bit too technical for some readers, burgeoning scientists will be drawn in.
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe. (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: April 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668936849
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tilbury House
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More thoughtful, sometimes exhilarating encounters with nature.
In a new entry in the Over and Under series, a paddleboarder glimpses humpback whales leaping, floats over a populous kelp forest, and explores life on a beach and in a tide pool.
In this tale inspired by Messner’s experiences in Monterey Bay in California, a young tan-skinned narrator, along with their light-skinned mom and tan-skinned dad, observes in quiet, lyrical language sights and sounds above and below the sea’s serene surface. Switching perspectives and angles of view and often leaving the family’s red paddleboards just tiny dots bobbing on distant swells, Neal’s broad seascapes depict in precise detail bat stars and anchovies, kelp bass, and sea otters going about their business amid rocky formations and the swaying fronds of kelp…and, further out, graceful moon jellies and—thrillingly—massive whales in open waters beneath gliding pelicans and other shorebirds. After returning to the beach at day’s end to search for shells and to spot anemones and decorator crabs, the child ends with nighttime dreams of stars in the sky meeting stars in the sea. Appended nature notes on kelp and 21 other types of sealife fill in details about patterns and relationships in this rich ecosystem. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
More thoughtful, sometimes exhilarating encounters with nature. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-79720-347-8
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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