Carl and the Meaning of Life - a review

Carl and the Meaning of Life

Below is my review as it appeared in the March, 2019, edition of School Library Journal. It was definitely one of my favorite books of the year.

FREEDMAN, Deborah. Carl and the Meaning of Life. illus. by Deborah Freedman. 48p. Viking. Apr. 2019. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780451474988.

PreS-Gr 2--Carl is an earthworm who spends his day tunneling through the soil. When a field mouse asks him why he does what he does, Carl realizes that he does not know--but he is determined to find out. Carl visits with Bear, Rabbit, Fox, and others who are aware of their own purposes, but not Carl's. It takes a tiny ground beetle to enlighten him. Nature-inspired watercolor illustrations are gentle and inviting. The text appears in a simple black font, complementing the artwork. When Carl is busy at his job, the text is white against the brown earth and meanders across the pages, following Carl's tunneling track. Tiny black eyes and communicative postures express the attitudes of Carl and the other animals. But on the last page, when Carl finally learns his raison d'etre, readers also see a hint of his satisfied smile. VERDICT This book is a poignant example of the important contributions of even the smallest creature, but it's better than that--it's a science lesson as well. Freedman subtly explains the delicate balance of nature and each creature's role in maintaining it. Carl is an endearing protagonist.

 

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. 

 

Reprinted with permission.

 

To the Moon and Back - a review

To the Moon and Back: My Apollo 11 Adventure

By Buzz Aldrin and Marianne Dyson

Illustrated by Bruce Foster

National Geographic, 2018

In this gift-worthy, sturdy, pop-up book, middle-grade space enthusiasts will find a wealth of little-known details, personal remembrances, and photos from the quest to land men on the surface of the moon. In addition, the science and engineering is explained clearly and simply.

Buzz Aldrin begins with the start of his NASA career as an astronaut in the year 1963.  He then chronicles the successes and failures of the many Gemini, Soyuz, and Apollo missions that preceded the famous voyage of Apollo 11.

Tucked within the pages and pop-ups, are pull-out sections titled Space Race and Aldrin Family Reflections.  The pop-ups, created by paper engineer, Bruce Foster, include (among others) the Saturn V rocket which pops out to a height of over one foot, a lunar module, and the deploying parachutes of the lunar capsule's splash landing.

One section titled, "Saved by the Pen," includes this recollection:

     "After 21 hours on the moon, it was time to go. But the ascent engine's arming circuit breaker was broken off!  If we didn't find something to replace the pin, the engine wouldn't start.  We'd be stuck on the moon.

     Armstrong and I looked around.  We found a felt-tipped pen that fit into the slot. Problem solved!"

After reading To the Moon and Back, you will have a greater appreciation of what is often described as one of humanity's greatest feats of engineering.  The beautiful photos, pop-ups and a build-your-own lunar module are just icing on the cake.

Buzz Aldrin finishes his account with a query,

"Will we celebrate Apollo 11's 100th anniversary under the pink skies of Mars?"

He hopes so.  And perhaps it will be a woman who first steps on the red planet. I hope so.

Note:

In 2013, I was lucky enough to meet Buzz Aldrin.  He was very friendly, and let me touch him—the closest that I will ever come to outer space. 

© L Taylor

   My copy of To the Moon and Back was provided by the book's publicist.

Terrific Tongues - a review

Terrific Tongues!
By Maria Gianferrari
Illustrated by Jia Liu
Boyds Mills Press, 2018


I have to wait a few months before I am permitted to re-post reviews I write for School Library Journal, but here it is—better late than never.

I tested this book in a school classroom. The kids enjoyed it and were able to remember the differences between the animals' tongues. 😛

GIANFERRARI, Maria. illus. by Jia Liu. 32p. Boyds Mills. Apr. 2018. Tr $17.95. ISBN 9781620917848.

PreS-Gr 3–An expressive monkey acts as a guide to the animal kingdom's most interesting tongues. Liu chooses the monkey's own mouth to illustrate, literally, the many things a tongue is similar to—straw, sword, nose, and mop. In each instance, Gianferrari's simple analogy appears in large font with a humorous illustration. “If you had a tongue like a sword, you might be a…” In the first example, the monkey's tongue is actually a sword as he dukes it out with a fencer. On the following page, we discover the answer, “Woodpecker!” and see a rendering of a woodpecker in its natural habitat, its long pointed tongue stabbing underneath the bark of a tree. A short paragraph explaining the workings of the animal's tongue is embedded within the illustration. Readers will enjoy finding the monkey in each habitat, too. Eleven creatures are featured in similar fashion. Back matter offers greater detail and also explains the workings of the human tongue. The appealing cover and bright, cheery illustrations will capture the attention of even casual browsers. VERDICT A fine addition to early nonfiction collections.

School Library Journal. Feb2018, Vol. 64 Issue 2, p112-112. 2/9p.

Copyright © 2018 School Library Journal, the property of Media Source, Inc.  Reprinted here with permission.

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
See more nonfiction books reviews at the STEM Friday blog.

The Bridge - a graphic novel review

The Bridge: How the Roeblings Connected Brooklyn to New York
by Peter J. Tomasi
Illustrated by Sara DuVall
Abrams Comic Arts, 2018

 If you've never watched the Ken Burns documentary, "Brooklyn Bridge," you may not fully grasp the truly marvel qualities of the Brooklyn Bridge.  Besides being an engineering masterpiece, it is an architectural beauty, and the result of a heroic and lengthy commitment by the Roebling family and countless workers.  The Bridge: How the Roeblings Connected Brooklyn to New York is the true story in graphic format of the epic task of building the bridge.

The book begins in 1852, when the bridge was just a dream in the mind of John Augustus Roebling and his son Washington.  Washington Roebling's father was a non-nonsense man, who doled out praise sparingly, but had great faith in his son. In 1862, after designing the bridge and receiving approval for its construction, John Augustus Roebling died and the young Washington Roebling became the chief engineer—a job that he eventually shared with his wife, Emily, after he contracted what was then an unknown disease.

Peter J. Tomasi tells this heroic story with little need for explanatory text, employing artistic license to recreate dialogue that rings true and gives a real feel for the political and personal dramas that unfolded throughout the fourteen years that passed during the bridge's construction.This is not an entirely personal story however, Tomasi includes ample description of the actual engineering of the bridge—a process with many failures and tragedies on the road to eventual success.

This is Sara DuVall's first graphic novel and the style is simple and appealing.  The colors are bright and engaging, but background details are minimal, allowing the reader to focus on the expressions, the emotions, and the individual episodes that tie this epic story together.

The Bridge: How the Roeblings Connected Brooklyn to New York is well researched and accurately captures in graphic format this engineering marvel and the personal triumphs and sorrows associated with it.



See a slide show of images from The Bridge at Abrams Books.

Enjoy these actual photos from the New York Public Library's digital collection.

"View of Manhattan waterfront and Brooklyn Bridge under construction; temporary footbridge " The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1877

Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. "View of Manhattan waterfront and Brooklyn Bridge under construction; temporary footbridge " New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 18, 2018. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/75c1c390-9f35-0132-e3a4-58d385a7b928

View of Manhattan from Brooklyn; men working on bridge cables; Fulton ferry boat "Hamilton"; sailboats, 1885

Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. "View of Manhattan from Brooklyn; men working on bridge cables; Fulton ferry boat "Hamilton"; sailboats" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 18, 2018. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/7c0ce5f0-9dc2-0132-d343-58d385a7bbd0

"Pedestrians on the Promenade (copy of #23:7)" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1895.

Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. "Pedestrians on the Promenade (copy of #23:7)" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 18, 2018. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/bfc671e0-9f3a-0132-96cc-58d385a7bbd0

Note: My copy of The Bridge was provided by the publisher.

Ultimate Space Atlas - a review

Just in time for World Space Week (October 4-10), 

 here's a review of Nat Geo's Ultimate Space Atlas.

Ultimate Space Atlas
by Carolyn DeCristofano
National Geographic Kids, 2017


Let me begin by saying that a space atlas inspired my eldest daughter to become a rocket scientist by the age of 20 (see note below).  It doesn't matter what your child's age may be.  If you have a space enthusiast (or any kind of enthusiast), nurture and feed that enthusiasm. Follow it wherever it leads.

National Geographic Kids Ultimate Space Atlas is a picture book-sized, softcover atlas.  It's small and light enough to take with you on car trips, vacations, etc.  That's the beauty of an atlas.  The reader can invest as much or as little time as she wants—scan the Cool Facts, enjoy the images, or read more in-depth passages about constellations, lunar phases, favorite planets, or the possibility of life in space.

Immediately following the Table of Contents is the very helpful section "How to Use This Atlas." Despite this being the digital age, using an atlas is a useful exercise in learning how to group, classify, and present information.  The same skills that are used in creating an atlas, are those used in creating research papers, PowerPoint presentations, essays, and more. An atlas helps a child to process the questions:

• What information do I have?
• What portion of that information do I want to share?
• What is my purpose in sharing it?
• What is the best way for me to present it? 

But enough of librarian geekery, the point is that the atlas is organized into tabbed sections, Sky-High, Observing Space, Inner Solar System, Outer Solar System, Our Galaxy and Beyond, and Mapping Space.  Each section contains similar insets against a background of images - natural photographs, colorized images, and artistic impressions. The lack of glossy pages takes away a bit of space's luster, but space is magnificent even in matte finish. A few pages of fun activities round out the atlas and will suffice to keep a child occupied while waiting for dinner at a restaurant.

Ultimate Space Atlas includes:

• Table of contents
• How to Use section
• Glossary
• Index
• Seven tabbed chapters 
• Credits

You can download a National Geographic Kids fun pack here.


Note:
If you'd be interested in learning how an old space atlas inspired my daughter to become a rocket scientist by the age of 20, please jump over to this post I wrote back in 2013. [http://kidlitwhm.blogspot.com/2013/03/yes-you-can.html]

See more STEM-related book reviews at the STEM Friday Blog 

My review copy of Ultimate Space Atlas was provided by the publisher's publicity agent.

Seashores - a review

About Habitats: Seashores
by Cathryn Sill
Peachtree, 2017

Approximately 40% of U.S. residents live near the coast, yet there is a dearth of nonfiction titles for very young readers on the topic.  Seashores fills this gap with beautiful, painted illustrations by wildlife artist, John Sill.  The illustrations are reminiscent of Audubon's style. Cathryn Sill offers very simple observations,

Plants have to be tough to live in the salty spray, strong winds, and hot sunshine at seashores.

Each sentence is in a large simple font on a white background.  The accompanying illustration is on the facing page.  In a nod to all types of seashores, there are depictions of muddy flats, rocky cliffs, palm-ringed beaches, and beaches from across the globe.  Wildlife and bird life are accurately represented in each location.

There is only one sentence or thought per page, however, for older readers, a note at the bottom offers the title and plate number of the illustration.  The author's Afterword lists each plate number with a small representation of the illustration and a paragraph that more fully describes the scene.  For the quote above, the description reads,

Many seashore plants grow close to the ground for protection from the wind.  Others have thick and waxy leaves that make it easier to store water.  Some have leaves covered with tiny hairs that protect the plant from the heat.  Pink Sand Verbenas have thick, water-storing leaves.  They live in sandy soil along the western coast of North America.

A Glossary and Bibliography complete the book.  The suggested age range for About Habitats: Seashores is from 3-7.  This is a lovely, educational book that will appeal to shore dwellers and mid-staters alike.


A Teacher's Guide for the About Habitats series is available here.


My copy of Seashores was provided by Peachtree Publishers.  It will be on a shelf near you in August.

The Astronaut Instruction Manual - an audiobook review

The Astronaut Instruction Manual: Practical Skills for Future Space Explorers
by Mike Mongo, read by Mike Mongo with foreword by Alyssa Carson
Listening Library, 2017
47 minutes

If you'd read my blog for any length of time, you will know that I'm an avid fan of several things - two of them are nonfiction and outer space.  I was happy for the opportunity to review the audiobook version of The Astronaut Instruction Manual.

Mike Mongo narrates his own book with an infectious enthusiasm for his topic guaranteed to draw you in to this practical and inspirational look at the future of space travel.

The Astronaut Instruction Manual began as a book on Inkshares, basically a "Kickstarter" for self-published books.  Largely do to its author's subject knowledge and enthusiasm, it became a popular seller, hence the recent release of the audiobook version.  According to the Hollywood Reporter, there is also a television series in the works.

My complete review of The Astronaut Instruction Manual may be found in AudioFile Magazine, in print and online at this link [http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/121233/the-astronaut-instruction-manual-by-mike-mongo/].

Infinity and Me - an audiobook review

Although I reviewed a print version of Infinity and Me book several years ago (my original review is linked here), I recently had the opportunity to review the audio version for School Library Journal.  My review as it appeared in the February, 2016, edition of SLJ is below.

HOSFORD, Kate. Infinity and Me. 1 CD w/tr book. 44 min. Live Oak Media. 2015. $29.95. ISBN 9781430120049.

K-Gr 3—A small girl, Uma, ponders infinity while gazing at stars, “How many stars were in the sky? A million? A billion? Maybe the number was as big as infinity.” Uma proceeds to ask friends and family how they conceive of infinity. They define it in quantities of numbers, time, music, ancestors—even spaghetti! Finally, she settles on her own measure of infinity, quantified in something that is personal and boundless. Narrator Nancy Wu is accompanied by a full cast of characters, music, and sound effects that complement the text and the book’s full-bleed, painted illustrations by Gabi Swiatkowska. Background sound effects include a bicycle bell, the “tinkling” of stars, chattering voices, and churning gears. A sense of wonder is embodied in Wu’s narration, the illustrations, and the overall production. The audiobook contains two tracks, one with page turn signals and one without. VERDICT This is an intriguing introduction to a mathematical concept, perfect for those seeking to inspire very young people to wonder about math and science. [“This quiet jewel is sure to spark contemplation and conversation": SLJ 10/12 review of the Carolrhoda book.]

 ##

Copyright © 2016 Library Journals, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.
Reprinted with permission.

The Official Scratch Jr. Book - a review

Because I've shown an interest in coding in the past, No Starch Press was kind enough to offer me a review copy of The Official ScratchJr Book by Marina Umaschi Bers and Mitchel Resnick. (2015)



Sadly, I don't have an iPad or Android-based tablet, so I was unable to download the ScratchJr app to test it, but judging by the book and my experience with Scratch, I'm sure it's a wonderful tool for inspiring creativity and logical thinking.

Here's what I like about The Official ScratchJr. Book:

• It targets a very young audience - ages 5 and up
• It can be useful for parents and teachers and librarians - especially those who might find coding to be intimidating
• Unlike the Hour of Code (which I love and have used as a resource for library programming), The Official ScratchJr Book focuses more on inspiring creativity than learning the nuts and bolts of logical thinking
• The above statement notwithstanding, it still can be used to learn the nuts and bolts of simple coding and logical thinking

If at first there was a great rush to teach kids to code, there is now a push in the opposite direction. Just Google "Should kids learn to code?" and you will find a wealth of opinion on either side. Personally, I liken the "argument" to car repair.  In days gone by, many people knew how to do most repairs on their automobiles.  Now, cars' systems are so intricate, that most people have trouble doing anything other than the simplest of repairs.  Most people have cars.  Should we know how to repair them?  No, I don't think so.  There will also be a need for an auto mechanic. But, knowing how to change a flat tire sure comes in handy!  If working on cars appeals to you, become a mechanic.  The same is true of coding.  Give it a try.  If your kids are looking for a follow up to the Frozen Hour of Code project, "Code with Anna and Elsa," The Official ScratchJr Book is probably a good place to start (if you have a tablet that can run the ScratchJr app).



I'm going to pass my copy along to my school district's media specialist.  The kids have Chromebooks and should be able to make good use of it.

Visit the STEM Friday blog for reviews of more great STEM books for kids and teens.

Bee Dance - a review

Bee Dance by Rick Chrustowski (Henry Holt, 2015)

Suitable for sharing with a story time group, Bee Dance is presented as a conversational entreaty to bees,

Waggle faster, honeybee! Buzz louder! Your dance points the way to the prairie."

Bee Dance is lyrical nonfiction with large, bright, cut-paper illustrations.  An author's note contains additional facts and the author's source material.

• See a slideshow of illustrations from Bee Dance on the publisher's website.

• You can watch an actual "waggle dance" below.

• Bee Dance was also reviewed by Archimedes Notebook. 

It's STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

 The STEM Friday blog was featured in Lee & Low's "Summer of Learning" professional development series.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Young Readers Edition

The story of William Kamkwamba is so inspiring that three books have been written to tell it. I listened to the audio book version of the 305-page, young reader's edition. 

My review of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Young Readers Edition, 
written for AudioFile Magazine, is linked here. 

I cannot recommend this one enough.  I hope you have time to read at least one version of this inspiring true story of a teenager who created electricity for his impoverished, starving village in Malawi with nothing more than garbage, an elementary education, an old borrowed Physics book (in a language that he did not speak or read!), and a will to make things better!

1. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer (William Morrow, 2009)
2. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Picture Book Edition by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer (Dial, 2012)
3. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Young Readers Edition by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer (Penguin, 2015)

Here are William Kamkwamba's two TED Talks.  They're short and well worth a listen.

[http://www.ted.com/talks/william_kamkwamba_on_building_a_windmill?language=en]

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QkNxt7MpWM]

Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled all of France - a review

You've heard the term mesmerized before, and you've likely heard of a blind study in medical research (in which study participants are unaware of whether they have been given a treatment or a placebo).  But do you know what these two terms have in common?  Benjamin Franklin!

Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled all of France
Written by Mara Rockliff. Illustrated by Iacopo Bruno. Candlewick, 2015

When Benjamin Franklin arrived in France seeking support for the American cause, Paris was all abuzz about recent advances in science, but one man in particular was drawing much attention - Dr. Franz Mesmer.  Like the invisible gas that was recently proven to buoy giant passenger-carrying balloons when burned, Dr. Mesmer claimed that he, too, had discovered a powerful new invisible force.

Dr. Mesmer said this forced streamed from the stars and flowed into his wand.  When he stared into his patients' eyes and waved the wand, things happened. 

Women swooned.

Men sobbed.

Children fell down in fits.

Mesmer and his practitioners claimed to cure illnesses in this manner, but was is true?  Or was it quackery?  King Louis XVI wanted to know, and Benjamin Franklin was sent to find out.

Mesmerized is one of those wonderful books that combines history with science and humor.  Using the scientific method, Benjamin Franklin was able to deduce that Dr. Mesmer had indeed discovered something, but not the something he had claimed!

Delightfully humorous and informative illustrations, a section on the scientific method (Ooh La La ... La Science!). and a list of source books and articles make Mesmerized a triple-play - science, humor, and history.  Go ahead, be mesmerized!


*This post also appears on the STEM Friday blog today. 

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

See all of today's STEM-related posts at STEM Friday.

Star Stuff: Carl Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos - a review

Sisson, Stephanie Roth. 2014. Star Stuff: Carl Sagan and the mysteries of the cosmos. New York: Roaring Brook.

In simple text augmented by word bubbles, thought bubbles, and sketches, Stephanie Roth Sisson gives us the highlights of Carl Sagan's life—but more importantly, she offers a sense of his wondrous enthusiasm for the cosmos,

It gave Carl goose bumps to think about what he had learned about the stars, planets, and the beginnings of life.  He wanted everyone to understand so that they could feel like a part of the stars as he did.
So he went on television.

This is the first book that Stephanie Roth Sisson has both written and illustrated.  The fact that she is enthralled with her subject is apparent in the artwork. Painted cartoon images (often in panels with word bubbles), depict a happy Sagan, wide-eyed and curious.  While some pages are like panel comics, others are full-bleed, double spreads depicting the vastness of the darkened skies, dotted by planets or stars.  One foldout opens vertically, reminding us of our infinitesimal existence in the cosmos.  We are so small, yet we are reminded,

The Earth and every living thing are made of star stuff.

Star Stuff is a 2015 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award Honor book for "outstanding nonfiction for children."

Substantial back matter includes Author's Note, Notes, Bibliography and Sources, Special Thanks, and Source Notes.

Preview the first eight pages of Star Stuff on the publisher's website.

Note: 
Carl Sagan graduated from Rahway High School in Rahway, NJ.  As far as I can tell, he's not mentioned anywhere on the school's website. Pity.

It's STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

See all of today's STEM-related posts at the STEM Friday blog.

Mr. Ferris and His Wheel - a review

Davis, Kathryn Gibbs. 2014. Mr. Ferris and his Wheel. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Illustrated by Gilbert Ford.

Though written in a fully illustrated, engaging and narrative nonfiction style, Mr. Ferris and his Wheel is nevertheless, a well-sourced and researched picture book for older readers.

The story of the 1863, Chicago World's Fair debut of the world's first Ferris wheel (or Monster Wheel, as Mr. Ferris originally named it),  is told in a flowing and entertaining style,

     George arrived in Chicago and made his case to the construction chief of the fair.

     The chief stared at George's drawings.  No one had ever created a fair attraction that huge and complicated.  The chief told George that his structure was "so flimsy it would collapse."

     George had heard enough.  He rolled up his drawings and said, "You are an architect, sir. I am an engineer."

     George knew something the chief did not.  His invention would be delicate-looking and strong.  It would be both stronger and lighter than the Eiffel Tower because it would be built with an amazing new metal—steel.

and

it contains sidebars that impart more technical information that might otherwise interrupt the flow of the story,

George was a steel expert, and his structure would be made of a steel alloy.  Alloys combine a super-strong mix of a hard metal with two or more chemical elements.

George Ferris' determination is a story in itself, but it is the engineering genius of his wheel that steals the show.  A "must-have" for any school or public library.

Some facts about the original "Ferris" wheel:

• 834' in circumference
• 265' above the ground
• 3,000 electric lightbulbs (this itself was a marvel in 1893!)
• forty velvet seats per car

Ferris wheel at the Chicago World's Fair c1893.
 Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division[/caption]

It's STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

See all of today's STEM-related posts at the STEM Friday blog.

Copyright © 2014 L Taylor All Rights Reserved.

If - a review

If... A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers by David J. Smith.

If you're familiar with If the World Were a Village (also from Kids Can Press), then you'll understand the context in which If introduces large concepts. Take "Your Life," for example.

On a two-page spread, a large Sicilian-style pizza is depicted on a table surrounded by several happy children and one salivating dog,

If your whole life could be shown as a jumbo pizza, divided into 12 slices ...
4 slices would be the time you spend in school or at work
1 slice would be spent shopping, caring for others and doing things around home
4 slices would be the time you spend getting ready to sleep and sleeping,

etc., until all twelve slices have been accounted for.

Other concepts featured are:

•  "Inventions Through Time" - depicted on a 36" measuring tape
•  "Our Galaxy" - presented on a dinner plate
•  "Water" - represented by 100 water glasses
•  and 12 others 

In each case, care is taken to equate the concept to something with which children will be familiar.   This is a great way to place an intangible concept into a simple object that a child can hold within her hand.

Suggested for grades 3 - 6.  See an interior preview of If at the publisher's website. 

Today is STEM Friday.  You can see other posts at the STEM Friday blog.

It's STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

Copyright © 2014 L Taylor All Rights Reserved.

What's New? The Zoo! - a review

Krull, Kathleen. 2014. What's New? The Zoo!: A Zippy History of Zoos. New York: Scholastic.  Illustrated by Marcellus Hall.

What's New? The Zoo? is an illustrated overview of zoos that combines history with hard science and social science.  Kathleen Krull outlines the history of zoos, and offers insight into what compels us to keep animals, what we've learned from them, and what has changed in zoos since the founding of the first known zoo,

4,400 Years Ago, The Sumerian City of Ur, in Present-Day Iraq
The king of beasts lunges and roars.  The King of Ur roars right back, feeling like the ruler of all nature.  How delicious to wield his power over dangerous animals!  It's the world's first known zoo, and all we're sure about (from clay tablets in libraries) is that is has lions.

From this beginning, Krull highlights transitional moments in zoos throughout the ages and across the globe.  Just a few examples include:

• Ancient Egypt and Rome where zoos were created to impress
• Ancient China where the zoo was a contemplative and sacred place
• Sweden where the science of zoology was established in 1735
• The U.S. National Zoo where the concept of zoos protecting threatened species was introduced
• South Africa's Kruger National Park where the protection of rhinos was so successful that rhinos were delivered to other zoos
• Germany, 1907, where the "cageless zoo" concept is introduced

(Did you know that Aristotle wrote the first encyclopedia of animals?)

On most pages, humorous, watercolor illustrations nestle around paragraphs of simple font against white space.  Several pages, however (including one depiction of fifteen buffalo waiting for a train at Grand Central Station, 1907), are double-spreads with many amusing details.

The very talented Kathleen Krull never disappoints!  If you like your science accessible and entertaining, this is the book for you.

A SLJ interview with Kathleen Krull on the history of zoos.