A fascinating introduction to an amazing insect.
Bright collages dominated by rainforest greens depict an insect community of “eight million sisters working together.”
It begins, as all leafcutter ant nests do, with a single queen. The nest she establishes appears in cross-section as a sprawling network of round chambers connected by straight, crisscrossing tunnels. Within, red ants scurry about, performing the essential duties any large community requires of its citizens: They are “builders and soldiers, caretakers and cleaners, farmers and pharmacists, and foragers.” Hevron doesn’t attempt realistic depictions but neither does she anthropomorphize her subjects, instead gesturing at the physical differences within the community by showing their varying sizes. Her inspired text uses appropriate vocabulary, informing readers of the antibiotics the pharmacist ants produce, the pheromone the worker ants emit when threatened, and the mandibles the forager ants use to harvest bits of leaves. The pacing and structure are impeccable, while the information is deftly conveyed. Listeners learn early on of the fungus that the queen brings from her birth nest (“an essential ingredient for the new city’s survival”); after exploring the bustle of the city, the text returns to the fungus, informing little ones that “the garden that started from [it] now feeds the entire city of eight million.” Two pages of further information will help adults answer any questions the text might elicit.
A fascinating introduction to an amazing insect. (bibliography, further reading, author’s note) (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2024
ISBN: 9780823453184
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Neal Porter/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
PERSPECTIVES
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
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on.
Sharpson offers so-fish-ticated readers a heads up about the true terror of the seas.
The title says it all. Our unseen narrator is just fine with other animals: mammals. Reptiles. Even birds. But fish? Don’t trust them! First off, the rules always seem to change with fish. Some live in fresh water; some reside in salt water. Some have gills, while others have lungs. You can never see what they’re up to, since they hang out underwater, and they’re always eating those poor, innocent crabs. Soon, the narrator introduces readers to Jeff, a vacant-eyed yellow fish—but don’t be fooled! Jeff’s “the craftiest fish of all.” All fish are, apparently, hellbent on world domination, the narrator warns. “DON’T TRUST FISH!” Finally, at the tail end, we get a sly glimpse of our unreliable narrator. Readers needn’t be ichthyologists to appreciate Sharpson’s meticulous comic timing. (“Ships always sink at sea. They never sink on land. Isn’t that strange?”) His delightful text, filled to the brim with jokes that read aloud brilliantly, pairs perfectly with Santat’s art, which shifts between extreme realism and goofy hilarity. He also fills the book with his own clever gags (such as an image of Gilligan’s Island’s S.S. Minnow going down and a bottle of sauce labeled “Surly Chik’n Srir’racha’r”).
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 8, 2025
ISBN: 9780593616673
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
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