Children's Books discussion

Well, I do wonder if Anna Claybourne might not have had a choice regarding not adding bibliographic materials for Don't Read This Book Before Bed: Thrills, Chills, and Hauntingly True Stories, as all the National Geographic Kids books I have encountered do not include this (so this might have been demanded by the publisher). But even if this were indeed the case, it does not change the fact that for me there not being lists for further reading really does lower the educational value of Don't Read This Book Before Bed: Thrills, Chills, and Hauntingly True Stories.

I wish that the Science Skills Sorted series were more known, as after reading Evolution and Classification (and rating this book with five stars), I do think that this is a great and wonderfully educational series that would work really well both in the classroom and also at home (and with the books showing simple but never simplistic texts, providing a series of activities to test and solidly the words and also including both book and online suggestions for further reading).

And while I have thus far only read Evolution and Classification, the other books of the series appear to be the same format and will likely be just as good as Evolution and Classification has been.

Habitats (Anna Claybourne)
Rocks and Fossils (Anna Claybourne)
Life Cycles (Anna Claybourne)
Science Skills Sorted Plants (Angela Royston)
Human and Animal Bodies (Angela Royston)

Evolution and Classification (Anna Claybourne)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science

This 2022 novel in verse by Jeannine Atkins is for the most part factually correct regarding Lise Meitner's life and career and nicely celebrates her scientific accomplishments (and I do like that Atkins makes a point showing that until the Third Reich, Meitner's issues had everything to do with gender, with an anti women in the sciences bias and not with her being Jewish). But I have to admit that the novel in verse format is a bit distracting and jumpy and that the negativity towards Otto Hahn regarding the 1944/q945 Nobel Prize in Chenetry seems rather to be Jeannine Atkins' own interpretations than what Lise Meitner herself believed and what really happened.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Girls Who Looked Under Rocks: An Inspiring Chapter Book for Young Girls About Pursuing Your Passion and Breaking Stereotypes

Simple biographies and in my opinion not just for girls but for boys as well, educational, engagingly penned and not overwhelming for young readers from about the age of eight to eleven or so (my inner child loves the texts, but my adult self wants a bit more on Maria Sibylla Merian and also wants in the section on Rachel Carson for Jeannine Atkins to mention DDT by name as well as identify the companies that Carson named and shamed in her 1964 groundbreaking book Silent Spring).

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Identifying, Harvesting and Using Wild Plants of Eastern Canada (non fiction, but suitable for ages twelve and up with some caveats) three stars, recommended but with caveats regarding parts of the introduction.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I thought that Field Guide to the Slug might be interesting for readers from about the age of twelve onwards, but it was hugely boring and tedious and as such not recommended (although yes, the zoological information on slugs is scientifically solid and could be interesting if penned in a less snore-inducing manner).

Etty Darwin and the Four Pebble Problem does not cover Charles Darwin's theory of evolution but is a lovely biographical fiction picture book about Charles Darwin and his young daughter Henrietta (Etty) going for a walk, with Etty asking questions about fairies and being shown by her father the magic and the importance of asking questions, observing the natural world, keeping an open mind, gathering evidence etc. Nicely STEM in many ways but also a delightful father and daughter walk where the father always takes his daughter's questions seriously.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Dolphins

Want more criticism regarding the fact that many dolphin and porpoise species are endangered and facing extinction and also a section on cetacean evolution, but the general introduction works well and I appreciate the inclusion of websites for further research (although still a bit annoyed that Seymour Simon only provides websites and not both books and websites).

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Storms

Does a pretty decent (and factually solid) job explaining what storms (thunderstorms, tornadoes, hailstorms, hurricanes are) and that the earth actually needs storms, that without for example thunderstorms the earth's atmosphere would be much warmer. Not sure why Seymour Simon does not bother with snow and ice storms and am also annoyed there is no mention of global warming and no lists for further reading provided (and that in my opinion Seymour Simon does a bit of annoying fear mongering regarding lighting).

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Irish Elk

Yuck, this is how NOT to write STEM non fiction for children.

Honestly, Michael P. Goecke’s Irish Elk is truly one of the worst and most problematic juvenile scientific themed picture books I have read.

For while Goecke does of course textually point out that the Irish Elk is extinct and is considered by palaeontologists to be the largest deer that ever existed, both writing style and contents in my opinion leave very much to be desired.

So for one and stylistically (mode of writing) speaking, even though there is rather advanced descriptive (and scientific) vocabulary being used by Michael P. Goecke in Irish Elk, the author’s style of narration is so ridiculously simplistic in general scope to in my humble opinion feel almost, no actually in fact really insulting (since yes and come on, most child readers or listeners who are interested in Irish Elk and other extinct prehistoric animal species and are able to handle and understand words like migration, palaeontology, fossil and prehistoric will also very likely already be well aware of the fact that millions of years ago, there were no cities and will thus probably find Goecke’s narrational tone patronising and majorly talking down to them, of not respecting the intended audience).

And for two and in fact considerably worse than the subpar writing style of Irish Elk are the factual mistakes and inconsistencies Michael P. Goecke features in his text. For example, the Irish Elk is now considered to not have become extinct 10,000 years ago (as Goecke claims in Irish Elk) but to have hung for a considerably longer time, until almost 5000 A.D. And furthermore, while climate change is still considered as a possible reason for the Irish Elk’s demise, it is not the only reason considered (and in fact, it is now pretty strongly believed that the Irish Elk’s huge antlers actually proved to be detrimental to their survival and to have then become an easier target for human hunters and other predators).

Finally, although I do find the accompanying illustrations and photographs for Irish Elk sufficiently visually appealing, sorry, but that is simply not enough to warrant ranking this book and in particular Michael P. Goecke’s sorry excuse for a text with more than one star (too simplistic, too fraught with errors and that the so-called website for further study and research in fact just seems to be an advertising gimmick for the publisher, for Buddy Books, yes, this really does make me livid).

I really enjoy how in One Gorilla, Anthony Browne introduces primates and shows how all primates (including us) are related (but unfortunately, that also will likely be considered as promoting evolution and thus be on potential book banning hit lists in some areas of the USA in particular).

Anthony Browne's One Gorilla is simply and beautifully a number and counting book, featuring the digits from one to ten, and text-wise, it really does not present much else. However, for young children just learning their numbers, One Gorilla truly is a superb introduction to the same (to basic numbers), with the added benefit of showing that ALL primates, including US humans, are related, are of one family so to speak. Of course, that one small bit, might also, unfortunately, make One Gorilla rather unacceptable to parents who are strongly creationist and thus anti-evolution (but I would still hope that these individuals will simply decide not to read this book to or with their children, and NOT try to get One Gorilla censored or removed from classrooms and library bookshelves, that they will not try to force their attitudes and philosophies on others).

Now with regard to the accompanying illustrations (which are also by Anthony Browne), what can one really say, but wow! They are expressive, glowing, and especially the eyes of the diverse primates depicted makes one feel as though the monkeys, lemurs and apes are looking right out from the pages of the book, right out from the pages of One Gorilla (transfixing and mesemerising us). Amazingly, spectacularly detailed, Browne's pictorial primate renderings are a wonderful and true visual feast (and yes, the oh so emotionally depicted simian facial features also very nicely and beautifully demonstrate the family relationship of ALL primates, including humans, for when I look at the depicted primates' faces and eyes, I do feel and even know that I am looking at extended family relations, that primates are indeed our cousins, that we are all family members).

Stone Girl, Bone Girl: The Story of Mary Anning

I seem to be an outlier, but I have found too many errors in the text and found the skin tones of Mary Anning and her father (although they supposed to be British) strangely Italian or Spanish like.

I do indeed apologise to especially my Goodreads friends who have found Laurence Anholt's (author) and Sheila Moxley's (illustrator) 1999 picture book Stone Girl, Bone Girl: The Story of Mary Anning a sweet and engaging tale, but truth be told, I have not much enjoyed Moxley's illustrations and have actually and in fact totally and utterly DESPISED the narrative, the story itself, or rather, I should say, the misleading and strangely annoyingly fantastical manner in which the author, in which Laurence Anholt has chosen to present the very much important account of Mary Anning and her revolutionary fossil discoveries.

For aside from the fact that Anholt in Stone Girl, Bone Girl: The Story of Mary Anning has for no understandable reason whatsoever failed to even mention Mary Anning's older brother Joseph (with whom she had a very close relationship and who actually was the person to originally discover a "dragon eye" in the cliff, which of course was later unearthed by his sister Mary as the first fossil of an ichthyosaur), the whole story of Pepper's death is pretty much and sadly lacking. Why is it not mentioned in Stone Girl, Bone Girl: The Story of Mary Anning that Mary Anning's father suffered a serious back injury whilst collecting curiosities on the beach and that his later death due to tuberculosis was directly related to the former, to said accident? For yes, how Pepper's death is described in Stone Girl, Bone Girl: The Story of Mary Anning sure does make it appear as though Laurence Anholt absolutely wants to convey that Mary Anning's father simply died of old age and due to cold, damp weather, which was/is simply not the case. But much much worse, and yes, the main reason why I am ranking Stone Girl, Bone Girl: The Story of Mary Anning so low and why I am in fact rather angry and majorly so is that the whole fantastical sequence involving Mary Anning's dog is both cringeworthy and in my opinion quite insulting. For while Aholt kind of creates a sweet and fantastic little rigamarole where the little dog seems to almost if not even probably represent the dead father's, Pepper Anning's spirit, coming to help Mary unearth her itchyosaur fossil only to then disappear because his purpose is now done, the truth of the matter, the tragic reality, is Mary Anning's dog was killed in a rockslide, an event that greatly saddened her, an event that was yet another of the many tragedies she had to endure as a child (and I for one do consider how Laurence Anholt has incorporated, has used the dog in Stone Girl, Bone Girl: The Story of Mary Anning at best rather to be childish and actually also massively disrespectful to Mary Anning and the sad truth that she had to weather and endure so many personal tragedies during her life, but still managed to persevere and to succeed).

Combined with Sheila Moxley's bright but also much too naive and one-dimentional accompanying illustrations for Stone Girl, Bone Girl: The Story of Mary Anning majorly rubbing me the wrong proverbial way because while Stone Girl, Bone Girl: The Story of Mary Anning clearly takes place in early 19th century England, in coastal Cornwall, the skin tones of especially Mary and Pepper Anning make them appear more Italian or Spanish than British, than English to and for me, I have unfortunately and sadly been very much disappointed both textually and illustratively with and by Stone Girl, Bone Girl: The Story of Mary Anning and can thus even with my apologies to those of you who have found Stone Girl, Bone Girl: The Story of Mary Anning enchanting and delightful only consider a one star ranking.

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming is not specifically a book geared towards children, but the simple text (which is informative, easy to read and also nicely scientific jargon free) is certainly suitable for all readers above the age of twelve or so (and it certainly explains much about planetary science and why Pluto was demoted). I did not really like the rather snarky book title and have found the lack of a bibliography annoying and the inclusions about Mike Brown's infant daughter distracting, but I enjoyed reading How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming and found what Brown has written about the demotion of Pluto from planet to dwarf planet pretty convincing.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

And I do have to say this regarding How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming that the detours into Mike Brown's personal life are definitely distracting and would probably be even more so for younger readers, as while my adult reading self did not really mind Brown sometimes veering a bit off topic and only found this mildly annoying, my inner child was definitely considerably more frustrated.

Under Your Feet... Soil, Sand and Everything Underground

Educational, informative, gorgeously illustrated, but also in my opinion too busy and extensive (and not intensive enough) and with the absence of any bibliographic information making supplementarity research not at all easy.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Mike Unwin's Around the World in 80 Birds is not meant specifically for children, but his text is interesting, enlightening, penned engagingly and without jargon, includes a list for further reading and also the websites of a number of conservation groups. But I am missing a section on avian evolution and on extinct birds and there is definitely not enough criticism of humans and human caused activity (endangering birds) going on. Still recommended, a fast read but could be better. But it is generally a nice combination of scientific and cultural/historical information, suitable for readers above say twelve years of age.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

A Gap in Nature: Discovering the World's Extinct Animals is not written specifically for younger readers, but with regard to Tim Flannery's text (which is clear, precise and nicely jargon free), A Gap in Nature: Discovering the World's Extinct Animals would definitely work for readers from about the age of ten or eleven onwards (and the illustrations are also spectacular, and what Flannery has written is definitely interesting and enlightening). But the text for A Gap in Nature: Discovering the World's Extinct Animals is definitely majorly depressing (and in my opinion even a bit exaggeratedly so, bordering on hopelessness) and I also think that Flannery is often more critical of Polynesians, Native Americans/Canadians and Australian Aborigines for primary extinctions than of European settlement and exploration for secondary extinctions).

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Not written with a young audience in mind, but Handbook of the Canadian Rockies is excellent (five stars from me) and in particular the geology sections are definitely suitable for readers from about the age of eleven or twelve onwards (and are in fact according to author Ben Gadd often used as a textbook at the high school and college/university level in Alberta and British Columbia in particular).

(view spoiler)[Although a select few of the sections of Ben Gadd's Handbook of the Canadian Rockies (and I own and have read the 2009 fourth printing of the updated second edition) are not really all that much of personal reading interest to and for me (and that therefore, I have only very quickly skimmed over Gadd's chapters on enjoying the Canadian Rockies for skiing, hiking, snowmobiling etc. and what to do if faced with emergencies), the general textual set-up of Handbook of the Canadian Rockies is absolutely wonderful, and so indeed are the many sections of Handbook of the Canadian Rockies which I ended up perusing thoroughly and with the proverbial fine toothed comb so to speak, namely the chapters about geology, weather, ecology, plants and animals, with detailed and extensive (but always readable, easy to understand and scientifically sound without using too much jargon) descriptions, analyses and often also Ben Gadd's personal suggestions/warnings combined with extensive lists of non fiction titles for further reading provided for each of the seventeen featured chapters (including the introduction) and also a list of fiction, poetry and memoirs about the Canadian Rockies post the afterword, maps and indexes (basically on the very last page of Handbook of the Canadian Rockies and that is on page 832).

Now truth be told, Handbook of the Canadian Rockies has obviously and definitely not been written with young readers in mind (and even though I personally have very much enjoyed my time with Handbook of the Canadian Rockies, over 800 pages of dense and small fonted text does make Ben Gadd's words and the massive amounts of information being presented and featured by him more than a bit of a reading chore and somewhat of a textual slog, so that I therefore and also strongly do not really recommend reading Handbook of the Canadian Rockies from page one to 832, from beginning to end and in one session, as I have just done for almost an entire month, but rather to read bits and pieces and chapters of interest of Handbook of the Canadian Rockies as needed and as wanted). But yes and in my humble opinion, in particular the chapters, the sections of Handbook of the Canadian Rockies regarding geology, they can definitely and also likely successfully be used for teaching the geologic history of the Canadian Rockies and how they compare and contrast to and with the American Rockies to students, to readers from about the age of eleven or twelve onwards (as what Ben Gadd writes is detailed, is information heavy but is presented in a textual style that reads easily and also does not automatically presume that readers are geologists and/or even university graduates, but just individuals interested in being told how the Canadian Rockies emerged and also how they are both similar and also very much different from their American counterparts, and Ben Gadd himself points out in his introduction that the geology sections of Handbook of the Canadian Rockies are often used both at the high school and also at the college and university level to introduce geological concepts and the geologic history of the Canadian Rockies).

And for me both intellectually and emotionally, most definitely and certainly a solidly five stars for Handbook of the Canadian Rockies, for a wonderfully delightful and nicely educational introduction to everything regarding the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and with my only (but I believe necessary) caveat being that since the second edition of Handbook of the Canadian Rockies was published in 2009, of course, any secondary research books on the Canadian Rockies that appear in Ben Gadd's extensive lists for further reading will naturally be from prior to 2009 (and that while Gadd certainly mentions global warming and receding glaciers in Handbook of the Rockies, in 2009, the level of the latter was not yet as dire and not yet as intensely problematic and massive as is the case today, in 2023, Ben Gadd's human caused climate change warnings in Handbook of the Canadian Rockies are obviously not all that intensive and not packing all that much of a textual punch so to speak, which bothers me a bit but is also textually understandable). (hide spoiler)]

Five stars (and about a professor I have actually met and who is personable, approachable and with no academic snobbery), I highly recommend Girl Who Loved Giraffes: And Became the World's First Giraffologist both as picture book biography of an outstanding woman and also as a STEM picture book about giraffes.

(view spoiler)[With the 2021 picture book biography The Girl Who Loved Giraffes: And Became the World's First Giraffologist Kathy Stinson (text) and François Thisdale (illustrations) chronicle the life and also the ambition of Canadian professor Dr. Anne Innis Dagg to obtain a PhD in zoology, and in particular, to study the giraffes that had captured her imagination as a child at the zoo. And yes, Anne Innis, born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1933 to a father who was a University of Toronto professor and a mother who was a published author (and who became Anne Innis Dag when she married University of Waterloo physics professor and academic colleague Ian Ralph Dag in 1957), she of course entered her adult years and academia in the 1950s and therefore at a time when she had to very much and daringly defy ridiculous and painfully misogynist societal and cultural conventions and pressures that did not (or at best only extremely grudgingly) accept women as university trained scientists, expecting and often even requiring them to instead become mostly homemakers, mostly stay at home mothers and housewives (and naturally, there was even less support and acceptance for women, for someone like Anne Innis, to travel solo to Africa to study giraffes in the wild and also sadly but not surprisingly for women to obtain PhDs and to then become actual and tenured professors, oh my gosh, the horror, the horror of this all, sigh).

So indeed, Kathy Stinson's presented narrative for The Girl Who Loved Giraffes: And Became the World's First Giraffologist (and which has according to Stinson's acknowledgment section also been read and verified by Professor Innis Dag herself) both wonderfully (simply but extensively, enlighteningly penned and as such perfect for younger readers, for the so-called picture book crowd of five to eight or nine year olds) and also often with a necessarily strong but equally never overly strident or nasty feeling sense of feminism (as well as some totally justifiable textual outrage) describes how Anne Innis is able to overcame the mostly societal and gender bias based obstacles being cast at her to obtain her biology degrees (including her PhD), to make her solo way to Africa to conduct first-hand observations of giraffes, to in fact become the first scientist, the first biologist to study these animals in the wild and indeed also the world's leading expert on giraffes (and with The Girl Who Loved Giraffes: And Became the World's First Giraffologist also presenting a plethora of scientific, of solid biological information on giraffes, as well as Kathy Stinson pointing out that giraffes are currently endangered in Africa and in need of increased and seriously all-encompassing conservation and protection) and for Anne Innis Dag to later have to fight very very hard to become a full time, a tenured professor at various Canadian universities and to have her accomplishments be officially recognised by academia (and that I sure am glad Kathy Stinson does not shy away from showing in The Girl Who Loved Giraffes: And Became the World's First Giraffologist the gender bias Anne Innis Dag has had to experience and deal with throughout her life and her academic career). But yes, I (both academically and even more so emotionally) also do think that Stinson should in The Girl Who Loved Giraffes: And Became the World's First Giraffologist be specifically naming the main two Southern Ontario universities that due to their general misogyny openly and nastily questioned Anne's academic qualifications (University of Guelph) and later refused to hire Anne Innis Dag as a full time tenure track professor because she was married (University of Waterloo), that while Stinson not identifying these universities by name might of course be in order to avoid possible litigation and legal issues, sorry, but I still do and very strongly so believe that both the University of Guelph and the University of Waterloo should be specifically mentioned by Stinson in The Girl Who Loved Giraffes: And Became the World's First Giraffologist. For really, since in the and personally highly recommended Wikipedia entry on Anne Innis Dag, specific names etc. are provided, so should this in my not so humble opinion also be the case in and for The Girl Who Loved Giraffes: And Became the World's First Giraffologist, and that furthermore, while I do appreciate Kathy Stinson listing in The Girl Who Loved Giraffes: And Became the World's First Giraffologist four books about giraffes that have been penned by Anne Innis Dag and also some documentaries about her, as an academic who has experienced a bit of gender bias at the college/university level, I also believe that Stinson should not only be listing books on giraffes written by Innis Dag but also and specifically some of her articles and essays on gender bias in academia.

Now with regard to François Thisdale's accompanying illustrations for The Girl Who Loved Giraffes: And Became the World's First Giraffologist, while I find that Thisdale's pictures do a pretty much wonderful aesthetic job realistically and with lush colouring successfully not only mirroring and complementing Kathy Stinson's printed words but also visually expanding on them, personally speaking, I would kind of want a combination of both artwork and photographs, and that I thus do think that the two photographs of Anne Innis Dag in the Author's Note for The Girl Who Loved Giraffes: And Became the World's First Giraffologist are not really sufficient (well at least for me). But yes, even with me wanting some photographs alongside of François Thisdale's artwork and that I am a little bit peeved that Kathy Stinson has kept the Ontario universities who most obviously and vocally discriminated against Anne Innis Dag due to obvious gender bias anonymous, The Girl Who Loved Giraffes: And Became the World's First Giraffologist is still a most highly recommended and for me also five star picture book biography of a wonderful and inspiring Canadian academic pioneer and heroine (and one whom I have actually personally met and have found delightfully approachable and with no hint at all of academic snobbery either). (hide spoiler)]

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Biomimicry: Inventions Inspired by Nature

Not a bad picture book introduction to biomimicry, but lacking intensity and it is annoying that there are no lists for further study and reading provided (and the lacking intensity actually would make those lists kind of essential in my opinion). Decent illustrations, but I also wanted photographs and on the whole, I do find Biomimicry: Inventions Inspired by Nature a bit disappointing.

(view spoiler)[Yes, Vancouver based author Dora Lee textually packs her 2011 picture book Biomimicry: Inventions Inspired by Nature with extensive examples of how human inventions often follow the innovations of nature, using the latter to provide solutions for problems, to make life easier, more productive, safer etc. (such as Swiss inventor George de Mestral basing his velcro invention on cockleburs, engineers in Zimbabwe using termite mounds as a blueprint to create cost efficient air conditioning, robotic experts using rats' whiskers for navigational designs, wild prairie grasses acting as a model for more effective and less environmentally destructive farming and indeed so on and so on, as these examples are only a few of many being presented by Lee in Biomimicry: Inventions Inspired by Nature).

Now Biomimicry: Inventions Inspired by Nature is divided into seventeen separate categories (as well as an introduction, glossary and index) and these sections feature several short entries that have Dora Lee engagingly, educationally and also thankfully without scientific jargon discussing different ways nature has inspired science and technology and with each of these being no more than a paragraph in length. But unfortunately, for both my inner child and also for my older adult reading self, the very short and not in any way even remotely sufficiently intensive bits and pieces of information Lee provides in Biomimicry: Inventions Inspired by Nature, they leave a rather annoying feeling of frustrating textual incompleteness, of wanting more, of needing more but more not really ever getting enough facts, figures and analysis. And while of course, one might then claim that Biomimicry: Inventions Inspired by Nature could serve as a decent starting off point for further study and research, well, considering that there are no bibliographical materials AT ALL included and provided by Dora Lee in Biomimicry: Inventions Inspired by Nature, this rather major academic/intellectual shortcoming alongside of the rather too on the surface, too extensive without enough intensity main textual body of Biomimicry: Inventions Inspired by Nature, it certainly has both bothered me and also negatively affected potential reading pleasure (and yes, with no lists of books and/or websites for further study being given, this certainly does make supplemental research on the topics etc. provided and introduced in Biomimicry: Inventions Inspired by Nature much more difficult and much more time consuming and potentially frustrating).

And thus, only a three star rating for what Dora Lee is textually providing with Biomimicry: Inventions Inspired by Nature (and as such equally only recommended with some necessary caveats and reservations on my part), and in fact lowered to two stars. For indeed, while I do think that Toronto illustrator Margot Thompson's accompanying artwork for Biomimicry: Inventions Inspired by Nature is aesthetically pleasant, is visually appealing enough and as such does a pretty nice job successfully mirroring Lee's printed words, for me personally (and indeed very strongly), I really do both want and actually even need not just drawn pictures but also photographs, and that no photographs at all being present in Biomimicry: Inventions Inspired by Nature, this just does not work at all well for me and leaves me pretty hugely peeved. (hide spoiler)]

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Case Closed?: Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science

Tried a pretty much spoiler free review. Really enjoyed this book and actually even learned a bit but have to dock a star due to the complete lack of a bibliography. But yes, my inner child totally enjoyed Case Closed?: Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science and wishes she had had these kinds of expansive, educational and engaging non fiction picture books when she was of the age of the intended audience, and does also not care all that much about the absence of a bibliography (but yes, my older and much more academically inclined adult reading self certainly does mind and cannot just ignore this).


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

(view spoiler)[So what really happened to Russian princess Anastasia Romanov? Did she really as has often been romantically and hopefully suggested escape the carnage of her family's politically motivated slaughter in post WWI Russia? Where was Egyptian Pharaoh Queen Hatshepsut buried? What happened to the missing plane, Star Dust? These and six more mysteries of the past, of both not so recent and more recent history are answered in Case Closed? Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science (which is suitable for readers from about the age of eight or so onwards and in my humble opinion presents an engagingly fun as well as hugely interesting and educational textual and visual combination of archaeology, history and scientific investigation penned by Susan Hughes and illustrated by Michael Wandelmaier).

Now each section of Case Closed? Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science commences with a brief teaser to pique reading interest, with Hughes after said teaser then supplying both the background and the necessary facts, figures etc. on and about the featured mystery (one per chapter) describing in suitably extensive and also intensive enough detail (but also not ever with and in a writing style too complicated and too scientifically, archaeologically difficult for the recommended age group, for young readers to easily grasp and comprehend) how scientists, archeologists etc. have worked together (collectively) to find clues and to solve the chapter's featured and described question, also (appreciatively) including solidly researched and scientifically sound opinions from so-called experts in the field, photographs and maps. And yes, additional information in Case Closed? Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science is equally very nicely being visually supplied via Wandelmaier's accompanying illustrations, which although a bit too aesthetically comic book like for my personal artistic tastes most definitely and delightfully do a very good and even pretty much perfect job both mirroring what Susan Hughes's printed words are providing and also expending on her text (especially with regard to buildings and history in general), and with the final heading for each chapter in Case Closed? Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science recapping the investigation and its conclusions, as well as pointing out if there are still unanswered queries (and with some sections of Case Closed? Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science also briefly alluding to similar and related mysteries, so that for example in the chapter on Anastasia Romanov, the Princes in the Tower of London are also mentioned).

Finally, Case Closed? Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science shows a nicely versatile mix of subjects (with some of these well-known and others much more obscure), a really good middle grade introduction to the nine featured mysteries in and of themselves but also to the way different disciplines can and often even must work together to get adequate and solid results, and with the only reason why for me Case Closed? Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science is four and not five stars being that I do find it rather frustrating and annoying that Susan Hughes has chosen not to provide footnotes/endnotes (has not acknowledged her sources) and also includes no books and/or websites for further reading and study, that Case Closed? Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science actually has no bibliographical materials at all (and which I absolutely neither understand nor am willing to accept without lowering my star rating). (hide spoiler)]

Just once again moaning and being annoyed at how often non fiction STEM picture books geared towards younger audiences do not seem to bother with bibliographical materials as both Biomimicry: Inventions Inspired by Nature and Case Closed?: Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science would be much better and also much more valuable and useful for teaching and learning if at the very least a list of titles for further study, for expanding one’s knowledge would be provided.

Manybooks wrote: "I really enjoy how in One Gorilla, Anthony Browne introduces primates and shows how all primates (including us) are related..."

Yes, it's a lovely book. Thanks for the reminder... I'll look for it to reread.

History Smashers: Plagues and Pandemics

Both history and stem and very highly recommended.

(view spoiler)[Well, I am not reading Kate Messner’s History Smashers series according to their publication dates, but rather considering my own personal reading interests. And thus, after having first read Christopher Columbus and the Taino People (number eight of the series and published in 2023), I am now proceeding to number six, to Plagues and Pandemics (published in 2021 and thus also featuring information on the most recent global pandemic, on covid-19). And yes, Plagues and Pandemics is like Christopher Columbus and the Taino People educational, engagingly penned, solidly researched and with Kate Messner thankfully and appreciatively not at all being in my way afraid of destroying and outing both historical and contemporary myths and fallacies regarding medicine and mankind’s approach to infectious diseases, to epidemics and pandemics, with Messner’s text and Falynn Koch’s accompanying cartoon-like illustrations providing a successful and superb combination of text and images, a five star reading experience for both my adult reading self and equally so for my inner child, although my ageing adult eyes do kind of find the graphic novel parts of Plagues and Pandemics a bit hard to read with their rather tiny fonts (but that most definitely, albeit Plagues and Pandemics has of course primarily been conceptualised for younger readers from about the age of nine to twelve or so, in my opinion, Plagues and Pandemics should also work very well for basically anyone young and not so young who requires and wants a solid but still nicely basic verbal and pictorial introduction to plagues and pandemics both yesterday and today).

So before starting my perusal of Plagues and Pandemics I was wondering how much historical smashing Kate Messner would actually be doing and whether this would also be extending to the 20th and 21st centuries. And indeed, Messner’s smashing is extensive, pretty much all encompassing and I do very much appreciate that she engages in name dropping and that she also pretty much and wonderfully discredits those politicians who made light of AIDS (such as Ronald Reagan) and covid-19 (like Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro, Boris Johnson). Combined with both a detailed source bibliography, as well as books and websites for further reading, I both highly rate and very strongly recommend Plagues and Pandemics for both pleasure reading and also for classroom and homeschooling use (but sadly, considering that there are a number of ranting and raving tirades online because Kate Messner is very much against covid-19 deniers, anti vaxxers and in particular and delightfully against populist politicians like Donald Trump who cater to these horrid ignoramuses, I can also easily see Plagues and Pandemics and the entire History Smashers being challenged and banned in US states like Florida, Alabama, Utah, Idaho, Texas etc.). (hide spoiler)]

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Cheryl wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "I really enjoy how in One Gorilla, Anthony Browne introduces primates and shows how all primates (including us) are related..."

Yes, it's a lovely book. Thanks fo..."

I love the illustrations (and too bad that some individuals actually seem to want the book banned from the classroom due to "evolution").

Animals of the World

This is an extensive, enlightening, engagingly penned (both for children and also though for adults wanting something basic). The book is not all that intensive though, and that there is in Animals of the World no bibliography and also no more intensive book suggestions for further reading (and that evolution is only mentioned as an afterthought and climate change not at all), this does make me rate Animals of the World with only three stars (but still recommended).

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Another member started a related thread, and I think the topic important enough to cross-post the question here:
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Chapitre1 (Vero) |
Hi! Children's librarian, here. Our Summer Reading Club's theme this year is Space! I'm going out to schools next week to promote the program and I'm bringing a few books to recommend. There's only one thing missing, that I'd really like to find --- a historical fiction where characters use the stars to navigate, find their way, or create myths. Do you know of such a book?
---

Children of the Stones by Jeremy Burnham (1977) is fun and about a British astrophysicist and his son unlocking the secret of the Stone Circle constructed about 3000 B.C.

Have not read the novel in English, but read a German translation as a teenager and quite enjoyed it (Children of the Stones is available on Open Library) and features astronomy, astrology, math and also some occultism and time-slip.

The Adventures of Alexander Von Humboldt

Detailed, informative, sometimes a bit textually overwhelming and with good artwork that could though have a bit more emotion in the facial expressions of the humans being featured, The Adventures of Alexander Von Humboldt is a solidly three star non fiction graphic novel and definitely recommended.

(view spoiler)[From what I know from some previous reading exposure (in Germany and decades ago during a university student exchange) to Prussian naturalist and geographer Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), von Humboldt obviously never stopped travelling, exploring, taking measurements etc. and he also corresponded (in a multitude of different languages aside from his native German) with everyone of significance on several continents (Friedrich Schiller, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Georges Cuvier, Simon Bolívar, Thomas Jefferson amongst many others), and that yes, Alexander von Humboldt should in my opinion always be seen and approached as being Prussian instead of as German, since there was in fact not a Germany proper until 1871, until twelve years after von Humboldt's death.

However and even though Alexander von Humboldt has seemingly more things named after him than any other scientist living or deceased (animal species, ocean currents, volcanoes, mountains, glaciers, parks), that von Humboldt is considered one of the first scientists and explorers to talk critically and reasonably about colonialism and to point out how human development can cause environmental degradation, habitat loss and artificial, problematic climate change, it is indeed quite sad and frustrating that since WWII and Naziism, Alexander von Humboldt has been rather unfairly forgotten and sometimes even actively ignored particularly in the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, in other words, in the English speaking world, and often simply due to him being Prussian/German even though National Socialism happened one hundred and fifty years after Alexander von Humboldt's birth and eighty years after his death. And therefore, both Andrea Wulf's 2015 biography The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World (which I read in 2016, really enjoyed but for some reason never reviewed) and equally so this here 2019 non fiction graphic novel titled The Adventures of Alexander Von Humboldt (where Wulf provides the text and Lillian Melcher the accompanying artwork) are not just interesting and enlightening texts in and of themselves, but are also hopefully rescuing von Humboldt from often still being unjustly forgotten and showcasing and celebrating his scientific importance and influence, his significance as a pioneering environmentalist and ecologist.

Now with regard to The Adventures of Alexander Von Humboldt, although I was originally expecting Andrea Wulf's words and Lillian Melcher's illustrations to be providing a straight birth to death biography of Alexander von Humboldt, well, considering that von Humboldt's five year journey to and through South America (from 1799 to 1804) is not only the easiest part of his life to tell in a graphic novel format but is probably also more interesting and intriguing for and to younger readers, for graphic novel audiences in general than the entirety of his biography (and with Wulf also providing an engaging first person voice and having Alexander von Humboldt thus narrate his South American travels and explorations as an old man fondly reminiscing), it for me certainly does make common sense to primarily feature Alexander von Humboldt in South America in The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt and not all that much more.

But honestly, even von Humboldt's South American journey is not all that easy to fit into just one book, or indeed easy for a reader to textually digest (and in particular since Andrea Wulf engages in quite a bit of information and name dropping in The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt, with many asides, flashbacks and flash-forwards, all of which do seem to echo and reflect Alexander von Humboldt's character and personality, but can also interfere with a reader’s ability to keep track, and especially because with all of the different place names, animal species, geographical features etc. being described by Wulf and illustrated by Lillian Melcher, The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt unfortunately and frustratingly has no maps being presented to help with physical orientation. And indeed, and therefore, even with me very much enjoying The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt and that Andrea Wulf's text also nicely demonstrates just how much and howl lastingly Alexander von Humboldt and his journey to South America in particular influenced Charles Darwin and his voyages on the HMS Beagle, yes, The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt is sometimes more than a bit overwhelming and that how the presented text is physically depicted on paper can certainly become rather hard for my ageing eyes (and which are definitely complaining a bit due to this, although what I have learned in The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt regarding Alexander von Humboldt's journey to South America, regarding his discoveries etc. has been both enlightening and equally massively interesting).

Finally, regarding Lillian Melcher's illustrations for The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt, albeit her pictures of geographical features and animals are aesthetically wonderful and as such also do a marvellous job both reflecting Wulf's words and also visually augmenting them, Melcher's facial expressions for her human figures (including Alexander von Humboldt) have a strangely formulaic quality to them that fails to capture all that much emotion, which results in me feeling a trifle removed whilst reading The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt and that I am thus not truly getting to know especially von Humboldt on a personal and emotional level, not a huge issue of course, but with more expressive facial features for Melcher's depictions of persons in The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt, my rating would be not three but four stars (and yes, the textual quality of Andrea Wulf's penmanship for The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt equally does get a bit much sometimes with regard to too much information and a feeling of being verbally, narrationally overburdened, and that this has somewhat negatively affected reading pleasure for especially my inner child or rather for my inner young teenaged reader). (hide spoiler)]

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

And although I do not consider The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World a children’s book I will post about it once I have reread and reviewed it as I do think Andrea Wulf’s text should be suitable for readers from about the age of fourteen or so onwards.

Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada

Honestly, with regard to George Barron's 1999 field guide Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada, while there is a lot that I have found textually enjoyable and enlightening, there are also some aspects of the book that are (that have been) rather majorly, rather massively annoying and as such also hugely frustrating.

Now with regard to the the main textual body of Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada, most definitely Barron's manner of setting up and dividing into specific and diverse sections his featured mushroom and a few other fungi examples (such as for example slime moulds) is delightfully user-friendly, featuring with adequate factual detail the described and depicted mushrooms and also providing visually stunning and spectacular photographs, rendering both visually and textually Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada into a generally pretty decent basic field guide (and in particular so for someone who is interested in photographing mushrooms, since the accompanying pictures are indeed and as already pointed out above really aesthetically wonderful and not to mention that George Barron also gives in Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada some handy how-to fungi photography information and suggestions).

But yes, there are also a few textually problematic issues with Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada, and that these certainly are for me and to me hugely significant and as such do prevent me from rating Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada with more than two stars.

For one, while the introduction for Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada does provide a decent enough overview to fungi in general, I also do strongly think that Barron's opening words are not nearly sufficiently detailed and informational regarding in particular the life cycles of fungi (well, at least not for my personal reading wants and needs).

For two and for me and in my opinion much more problematic regarding Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada, I really do feel that George Barron does not feature nearly enough facts and warnings regarding which mushrooms are edible and which mushrooms are toxic and with the small section at the back of Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada on using mushrooms for food and that in the main section, poisonous mushrooms are labelled as such not being nearly informative enough. For in my opinion, a book on mushrooms that people will most likely also be using in the field and perhaps even for foraging fungi for food absolutely needs more on toxic mushrooms than what George Barron is presenting in Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada and should most definitely always provide and list the main symptoms if one consumes a poisonous mushroom like for example a death cap or a deadly gallerina, and yes, that the absence of this in Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada is not only a lack of necessary information but also something that could in my opinion even prove potentially dangerous (and so much so that honestly, if you are actually going to be using Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada for foraging mushrooms for food, I would probably recommend a book with much more information on mushroom toxicity and on which mushrooms are safe to eat, which are not and why than what Barron is giving to us with Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada, and not to mention that his suggestion of chewing on a small piece of an unknown mushroom to check for its taste and then spitting out the pieces without swallowing is for me totally and ridiculously foolhardy).

And for three, while in the 2014 edition of Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada George Barron does include a list of books for further research and studying, the 1999 edition I read (and own a copy of) provides no secondary and no primary sources and that I can thus only consider recommending the 2014 edition of Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada (and that the lack of textual rigour regarding mushroom toxicity and that Barron's introduction to mushrooms is a bit too on the surface and not in-depth enough for me, yes, that still exists in the updated, in the 2014 edition of Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada).

Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada

Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada (a 2009 botanical field guide by Andy MacKinnon, Linda J. Kershaw, Patrick Owen, John Thor Aronson, Amanda Karst and Fiona Hammersley Chambers) presents an interesting, easy to read and understand field guide of edible and medicinal plants that can be encountered in (and often throughout) Canada. And yes (but of course also mainly in my very much inexpert, non botanically inclined opinion), generally speaking, Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada (and by extension of course equally the six authors) do a more than decent job helping to relatively easily identify all kinds of potentially useful plants, shrubs, trees and more (found when hiking, camping, in or near farmer's fields, in backyards etc.). However, while Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada is certainly highly detailed and replete with botanical information, it nevertheless should, it must be noted and with a major caveat attached that Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada should only ever be used as a very general guide (and certainly at least from where I am standing not totally relied upon for serious foraging and herbal remedies/medicines purposes) since some of the presented plants in Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada are or can be quite similar to poisonous (even potentially lethal) lookalikes and that each plant also has different life stages that may not that all encomapssingly presented in the descriptions given in Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada. And while Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada does in fact provide pretty clearly stated warnings if there is a chance of possible toxicity or if you must prepare a given plant in a specific, in a certain way to avoid the latter, to avoid toxicity or unpalatability before ingesting, for me personally, sorry, but any plant species in Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada that includes a warning label should really be off limits for foraging and for using as food or as medicine (except by college and university trained botany experts with advanced degrees and extensive in-the-field experience and practical, proven know-how).

So while I have definitely enjoyed browsing through Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada, do much appreciate the featured text commencing with a pictorial guide to easily identify a plant by its flowers or leaves without knowing any other particular identifying features and with Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada then being nicely and clearly divided into sections on trees, shrubs, vines, herbs, sedges, grasses and ferns (and with both the Latin names and also the local or colloquial plant names textually appearing), that the colour photographs, the plant descriptions, how and for what purpose a given plant is (or sometimes was) used and the included reference sections read interestingly as well as also feeling sufficiently scientifically sound, I do have to admit that I am definitely not sufficiently educated and versed regarding picking and preparing plants for taking them internally (as either food or as remedies) to claim that the information provided by Andy McKinnon et al in Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada about how to prepare the included plants for food or as medicine is correct, is safe and is thus also something to be trusted for actual foraging and using Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada as a guide that provides plant safety and is completely unproblematic regarding possible plant toxicity and the like. And I also say this since I have read some online reviews of Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada which claim that the authors have made mistakes, that some of the described preparation methods are potentially harmful and that there are also plants featured in Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada which supposedly should not be included, are basically not safe enough for human consumption to be included (statements and claims that I cannot of course personally verify, but which do bother me more than a bit and kind of make me quite hesitant to actually recommend Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada for more than just casual browsing and which also makes me lower my original four star rating for Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada to three stars, but yes, a very high and solid three stars).

I already posted previously about the The Princeton Field Guide to Prehistoric Mammals and I just want to point out that the dead tree, that the paper version of the book is much more user friendly than the Kindle edition and thus to be preferred.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Natural History of the Oak Tree: An Intricate Visual Exploration of the Oak and Its Environment

Text and images are great and work very well together (but yes, this book is about two European oak trees and therefore everything Richard Lewington writes about and illustrates is generally native to Europe, although he does feature grey squirrels and points out that they are invasive species from North America). Generally five stars, but lowered to three as the lack of bibliographical material is annoying and intellectually problematic for and to me (suitable for anyone from about the age of nine or so onwards).

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

How to Know a Crow: The Biography of a Brainy Bird

Excellent biographical fiction (but based on solid biological and ornithological facts and with included bibliographies), everything about North American crows and their life cycle, with a text meant for younger readers (from about the age of nine or ten onwards) but also suitable for anyone interested in crows (and/or birds in general). Like how Candace Savage neither dumbs down her text nor does she make what she writes too difficult and overwhelming and Rachel Hudson's illustrations do a lovely job mirroring Savage's words.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Brains! Not Just a Zombie Snack

This is a science textbook for very young readers. It's narrated by a young zombie girl who loves brains but promises not to eat certain parts of you brain you really need. She explains the different parts of a brain and what it is used for. The information is presented in a fun, casual manner that is easily accessible for young zombie lovers.

The illustrations are both cute (zombie girl) and factual. I found the whole presentation charming. I hope to see what zombie loving nephew thinks even though he's older now.

It would be interesting to see if this presentation works for kids. (And don't they grow up so fast!)

Cheryl wrote: "It would be interesting to see if this presentation works for kids. (And don't they grow up so fast!)"

I'm going to show it to 12 YO nephew and see what he thinks if he can look up from his screen long enough. I'll try to ask what he would have thought of the book when he was younger so I don't insult him because reading is hard. I think secretly he might enjoy this now. He also liked Magic School Bus when he was little.

Kids might be disappointed this isn't about zombies eating brains but they'll learn something about brains. It was a clever idea for a science book. I learned a lot about brains myself. The more wrinkles in your brain, the smarter the creature (more complex thoughts). Whales and dolphins are smarter than humans! I was surprised by some of the animals smarter than other small animals. And hey the information stuck in my brain so the book worked!

Log Life


This is kind of similar to Wendy Pfeffer's A Log's life, but a bit too anthropomorphic for my adult reading self and even for my inner child (drives me batty that in a science and ecology picture book, animals and fungi are shown a acting like humans and talking), a decent introduction to the ecological life cycle of a fallen log spanning centuries with a simple text and nice artwork (although I would prefer a combination of drawn illustrations and photography) and a good basic bibliography. Three stars!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Eek. Yeah, a science book should be more sciencey than Log Life, I agree. The zombie and brain book sounds better.

Cheryl wrote: "Eek. Yeah, a science book should be more sciencey than Log Life, I agree. The zombie and brain book sounds better."

I agree, and while Log Life is alright and scientifically sound with regard to contents, the talking animals and mushrooms really do annoy me (and also annoy my inner child as well).

I left the Zombie brains book out for nephew but I don't think he looked at it. He walked in the house, said hello and hugged me (for the first time? More than I got from the other three kids!) so I wasn't about to press the issue of forcing him to READ! He has a great special ed teacher this year who understands his unique learning style so maybe he'll learn to enjoy reading soon.

:fingers crossed:

Raccoon


Not specifically for children, but in my opinion suitable for readers from about age fourteen onwards (and with the caveat that Daniel Heath Justice does not just present raccoons scientifically but also culturally and as such also examines how raccoons were used especially in the USA as racial slurs).

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Eastern Canada Birds: Pocket Guide


Not specifically written with young readers in mind, but Eastern Canada Birds: Pocket Guide is in my opinion suitable for readers and birdwatchers aged 10 and onwards, with this pocket guide of Eastern Canada birds being both nicely portable (actually fitting into coat pockets), user friendly and also sufficiently informative for a decent introduction, and with my only midl criticism being that the authors should be providing on the final page a list of titles for further reading.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Ontario Nature Guide


Ontario Nature Guide is of course a basic introduction, but it provides readers (from about the age of elven or so onwards) with an excellent overview and an appreciation of the natural beauty of Ontario, from its many lakes and rocky shorelines to its teeming flora and fauna, and with Kagume's commentaries also clearly emphasising the importance of plants and animals to each area’s ecosystems (and that of course, if more detail and information is wanted or required, the excellent bibliographical materials makes this nicely easy, so that Ontario Nature Guide is also a perfect starting off point for further study and research).

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

A to Z of Women in Science and Math


Read and really liked the 2007 and updated edition on Open Library. Suitable (in my opinion for readers from around twelve years of age onwards) the blurbs that Lisa Yount provides about the almost three hundred women in science and math (from a to z, from the past to today, well, to 2007 I guess) are very simple and concise (and thus not expansive), but each entry also provides a list of titles for further research and study (and there are also more general sources included as back matter). Four stars, highly recommended, but of course, no information and no sources post 2007.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Beyond Jupiter: The Story Of Planetary Astronomer Heidi Hammel


With his 2005 junior STEM biography Beyond Jupiter: The Story of Planetary Astronomer Heidi Hammel, Fred Bortz engagingly, enlighteningly (but also nicely easy to understand, with not too much scientific jargon being used even when Bortz is explaining necessary and important astronomy details to help explain Dr. Hammel's work, so that Beyond Jupiter: The Story of Planetary Astronomer Heidi Hammel is suitable for readers from about the age of eleven or so onwards, therefore for both young and also for older readers) showcases not only American planetary astronomer Heidi Hammel's life but also how Dr. Hammel has specialised mainly in the exploration and study of the outer planets of the solar system (especially Uranus and Neptune) albeit she also was the team leader for the Hubble Space Telescope observations of the so-called Great Comet Crash of 1994 (when Shoemaker-Levy 9 ploughed into Jupiter) as well as Fred Bortz pointing out how Heidi Hammel spends a considerable amount of time as a science communicator as well (that Dr. Hammel does not just sit in self-absorbed academic isolation in an ivory tower but with speeches, stories etc. strives to get the general public interested in astronomy, in planetary science, something which I personally do find both laudable and also a huge service to and for humanity in general).

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Monster Science: Could Monsters Survive (and Thrive!) in the Real World?


The concept of Helaine Becker’s 2016 Monster Science: Could Monsters Survive (and Thrive!) in the Real World? is fun as well as at the same time being engagingly enlightening, and that in my humble opinion Monster Science: Could Monsters Survive (and Thrive!) in the Real World? is also the type of juvenile non-fiction many and perhaps even most young readers from about the age of eight to twelve or so and in particular boys would (and indeed should) find engaging and reading interest retaining. And for each of the six monsters showcased in Monster Science: Could Monsters Survive (and Thrive!) in the Real World? (Frankesntein's Monster, vampires, Bigfoot, zombies, sea monsters, werewolves), Becker gives the most likely origins of the monstrous myth or myths, then examines the creature's best-known features and traits in relation to hard-core science. Five stars for the combination of Helaine Becker's text and Rich McAndrew's images in Monster Science: Could Monsters Survive (and Thrive!) in the Real World? and very warmly and enthusiastically recommended, but lowered to four stars (since I am rather majorly annoyed at the complete lack of bibliographical materials in Monster Science: Could Monsters Survive (and Thrive!) in the Real World?).

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Monarch Butterflies: Explore the Life Journey of One of the Winged Wonders of the World


Excellent combination of informative text and similarly informative and lushly descriptive images, all about monarch butterflies, their life cycle and their mass migrations from Canada and the USA to central Mexico (and also showing threats to monarchs and how to help protect them, to help with conservation), highly recommended although I do wish Ann Hobbie would provide not just online resources but also book titles and that I do not consider it environmentally sound and acceptable to promote and encourage children taking monarch caterpillars from the wild to raise at home,

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...