The text is embraced by rainbow-stripe endpapers and a clear message that even though no two families, human or animal, “are quite the same,” nevertheless “they all have one thing that’s the same…love.” Within, each double-page spread highlights a different animal family with two levels of text; one is a general comment (“Here is a family where Mommy looks after the babies”), and the second offers more parenting facts (“Orangutan mommies look after their young longer than any other animal parent, and they do it on their own. They love their babies, very, very much”). Backmatter notes keyed to thumbnail pictures add additional, general information about each animal in the text. Animals as familiar as the clownfish, elephant, and cheetah are included, as are lesser-known animals such as the albatross, long-tailed tit, and emu. In scenes from diverse ecosystems—the Australian Outback, the oceans, North American woodland, and African savanna and desert—mothers, fathers, mother-and-father pairs, large extended families and communities, grandparents, two mothers, and two fathers raise and protect their young offspring. Spread after spread of boldly colored illustrations of a lush rainforest, a glowing coral reef, golden grasslands, and an icy evergreen branch, among others, make this a storytime winner for all seasons.
Lovingly reinforces the idea that diverse families are a natural part of our large and diverse world. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68464-191-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: Jan. 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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Sea otters are the key to healthy kelp forests on the Pacific coast of North America.
There have been several recent titles for older readers about the critical role sea otters play in the coastal Pacific ecosystem. This grand, green version presents it to even younger readers and listeners, using a two-level text and vivid illustrations. Biologist Buhrman-Deever opens as if she were telling a fairy tale: “On the Pacific coast of North America, where the ocean meets the shore, there are forests that have no trees.” The treelike forms are kelp, home to numerous creatures. Two spreads show this lush underwater jungle before its king, the sea otter, is introduced. A delicate balance allows this system to flourish, but there was a time that hunting upset this balance. The writer is careful to blame not the Indigenous peoples who had always hunted the area, but “new people.” In smaller print she explains that Russian explorations spurred the development of an international fur trade. Trueman paints the scene, concentrating on an otter family threatened by formidable harpoons from an abstractly rendered person in a small boat, with a sailing ship in the distance. “People do not always understand at first the changes they cause when they take too much.” Sea urchins take over; a page turn reveals a barren landscape. Happily, the story ends well when hunting stops and the otters return…and with them, the kelp forests.
A simple but effective look at a keystone species. (further information, select bibliography, additional resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 26, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7636-8934-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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BOOK REVIEW
Pearl and her robot, Pascal, take their coding skills for a spin at the amusement park in this Girls Who Code picture book, a follow-up to How To Code a Sandcastle (2018).
The park has many rides to choose from, and Pearl has 10 tokens to last her the day. But her favorite ride, the Python roller coaster, looks busy. Pearl decides to do something else fun, using code concepts such as variables to keep track of the length of the line and her remaining tokens and a conditional statement to decide when to return to the Python. Throughout, computer science terms are defined crisply in the text and vividly illustrated in the pictures, which use images such as popcorn bags for variables and the Ferris wheel for loops (keeping track of ice cream flavors seems somewhat contrived). The backmatter explains these ideas more fully. Pascal’s too-literal interpretations of Pearl’s statements make for several amusing moments along the way. When Pearl runs short of tokens (a missed opportunity to talk about checking for more than one condition?), she’s undaunted by the disaster, taking readers on a fun hunt for a secret hidden password, in a nod to the importance of proper sequencing. Pearl has brown skin and black curls; others at the park have a variety of skin tones.
Despite minor bumps, a ride that’s worth returning to. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-425-29203-7
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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