Every Second - a review

Below is my review as it appeared in the May, 2020 issue of School Library Journal.

 Every Second

By Bruno Gilbert

What on Earth Publishing

Gr 1–5—What happens in one second? More than one would think. Though a substantial 56 pages, the book consists primarily of two sentences. The narrative begins, "Every second, around the world 1 wedding is celebrated…" and continues until the summation sentence. Intriguing statistics about our world are interspersed throughout. The facts initially seem random, but they follow a loose pattern. For example, following a series of facts related to human dietary habits, readers learn the volume of human excrement and household waste produced each second (20,300 and 23,300 pounds, respectively) and the relatively paltry amount of recycling and replanting that humans do. The cartoon-style illustrations are in color but use muted tones. Gibert depicts people in a variety of shades including blue; and as illustrative statistics, they are representative rather than emotive. On one page, sand swirls in the sky above an expansive desert dwarfing the blue silhouette of a person on camelback. The text reads, "11,500 pounds of sand, carried by the wind, leave the Sahara Desert." No artwork details are included, but the colors appear porous, evoking newsprint, sponge, or screen printing. VERDICT This book will amuse and enlighten young or casual readers; more thoughtful readers will appreciate its global perspective and many ideas to ponder. 

 

Reprinted with permission. COPYRIGHT 2020 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/ 

My copy of Every Second was provided by the publisher.

Picture Book Roundup - Fall 2019 requests

Here are three new books that have something for every young family and busy caregiver.

If you cannot see the slide show below, you can see it on Riffle [https://www.rifflebooks.com/list/296267]or read ALL of my reviews on my LibraryThing account.

 

• Thanks to Penguin Workshop for my review copy of Across the Bay by Carlos Aponte. A little boy in Puerto Rico misses his dad who lives "across the bay."
• Thanks to Silver Dolphin Books for my review copy of Margaret Wise Brown 5-Minute Stories by Margaret Wise Brown.Eight stories by a beloved author are collected in one book designed for reading in 5-minute increments. 
• Thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons for my review copy of Five Minutes (That's a lot of time) (No, it's not) (Yes, it is) by Liz Garton and Audrey Vernick.A little boy comes to understand that the length of five minutes is highly subjective. 

More images and "look-ins" below.

An image from Margaret Wise Brown 5-Minute Stories ©

An image from Margaret Wise Brown 5-Minute Stories ©

Just a Second: A different way to look at time - a review

Jenkins, Steve. 2011. Just a Second: A different way to look at time. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

What can happen in a second?

Earth advances 18 1/2 miles (30 kilometers) in its orbit around the sun.

What can happen in a day?

People use the equivalent of 200 billion sheets of letter-size paper.

In a year?

A termite queen will lay almost 3,000,000 eggs.

With his trademark illustrative style, customary accuracy, and imaginative perspective, Steve Jenkins shows us the concept of time through a variety of aspects.  From the briefest second in which a cheetah can sprint 100 feet, to the unfathomable span of 2,000,000,000 years that it would take a spacecraft to traverse our galaxy, Jenkins offers illustrated facts, charts and graphs that are sure to interest kids of all ages. Facts are presented in white text on colorful pages, accompanied by cut paper illustrations.For teachers, it is a cross-curricular treasure trove. Highly recommended.

Included are books for additional reading and a note about the use of credible estimations for certain facts (e.g., the number of babies born each day).

Other reviews @:

• Publisher's Weekly
• A Year of Reading

This week's STEM Friday roundup is at Dig This Well.

While You Are Sleeping

Bernhard, Durga. 2011. While You are Sleeping: A Lift-the-Flap Book of Time Around the World. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.

Just a quick post today on a great little title for the 2011 Cooperative Summer Library Program, "One World, Many Stories."  Each page features a small inset map and a local time, with an illustration of a child sleeping, playing, eating, doing whatever is common for that time.  The adjacent page features a circular illustration depicting another part of the world. Lift the flap to see another child in his own time zone.  The following pages continue the story, each child in his own country at his local time.  (Interestingly, the local time in India is at half-past the hour, as the entire country of India is set in the time zone, regardless of the standard longitudinal divisions between Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian.)

The final pages feature a map of the world with the delineations for each time zone.

While You Are Sleeping is an attractively illustrated multi-purpose book, suitable for the summer reading theme, "One World, Many Stories", or for teaching multiculturalism, time zones, geography, or the

rotation of the earth around the sun.

A Discussion and Activity Guide is available from the publisher.

Today's Nonfiction Monday is at Rasco from RIF. Please stop by.

 And a reminder - Women's History Month begins tomorrow.  Check out a month's worth of great posts from talented children's authors and kidlit bloggers at

Kidlit Celebrates Women's History Month.