With a beguiling mix of outdoorsy adventure and glimpses of science in the field, Miles takes young naturalists from frozen wastes in Nunavut to a beach in Costa Rica, profiling in parallel ten modern wildlife biologists and the animals they’re studying. Those animals range from a bat and a beached blue whale to a rare leatherback turtle and far rarer Vancouver Island Marmot. Sandwiched between scene-setting introductions and basic facts about each creature, the scientists explain how they came to their profession and particular areas of interest. Miles adds descriptions of the special techniques and instruments used in animal tracking, study, rescue, and preservation. Like the equally outstanding Scientists in the Field series, this should be required reading for children with an active interest in understanding the natural world and our place in it. (photos, bibliography, Web resources) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2004
ISBN: 1-55192-618-0
Page Count: 168
Publisher: Raincoast
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
The Pumpkin Book (32 pp.; $16.95; Sept. 15; 0-8234-1465-5): From seed to vine and blossom to table, Gibbons traces the growth cycle of everyone’s favorite autumn symbol—the pumpkin. Meticulous drawings detail the transformation of tiny seeds to the colorful gourds that appear at roadside stands and stores in the fall. Directions for planting a pumpkin patch, carving a jack-o’-lantern, and drying the seeds give young gardeners the instructions they need to grow and enjoy their own golden globes. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 1999
ISBN: 0-8234-1465-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
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