Day: July 16, 2010

More Life-Size Zoo

| Tasha

More Life-Size Zoo by Teruyuki Komiya

A gorgeous combination of life-sized animal photographs and interesting facts on each creature.  Readers will be wowed by the enormous lion that folds out to its full size that is cleverly combined with a lion cub so that the growth can be understood.  The bottomless black of the eyes of a seal will draw readers in.  The amazing color of an orangutan’s coat will have small hands rubbing the photograph.  The final photo of the glory of a hippopotamus and its coarse hairs and moist skin finishes the collection on a high note.  This book will be shared between children and appeals to a wide range of ages.  Make sure you have the first book Life-Size Zoo at hand too.

The photographs here are the heart of the book.  It is a pleasure to see photos with such clarity printed in this large a format.  The detail of skin, fur, eyes and mouths is astonishing and invites readers to lean in and really see the animals close up.  The facts with each animal apply both to the specific specimen in the photograph and to the animal in general.  The section about the close up offer small details that children will enjoy looking for in the photos. 

Guaranteed to get appreciative exclamations from young readers who will turn to the photos again and again.  Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from book received from Seven Footer Press.

Volcano Wakes Up!

| Tasha

Volcano Wakes Up! by Lisa Westberg Peters, illustrated by Steve Jenkins

This book of poems follows a day on a an imaginary Hawaiian volcano.  All of the creatures on the volcano know that something is about to happen, from the lava flow crickets to the ferns.  Even the sun and the volcano itself have poems from their perspective.  Young readers will enjoy the tension as it mounts towards the eruption and then the drama and intensity of the eruption itself. 

This is Peter’s second book of poetry about geology. Peter’s poetry ranges through a variety of different styles in the book.  Each different voice has its own poetic form.  The volcano’s verse is shaped like a mountain.  The have a curling but upright form.  There are poems told in road signs and then the crickets speak in texts.  It is a very clever device that will have children eager to  move to the next poem because of the interesting and changing nature of the verse itself.

Jenkins’ illustrations are as gorgeous as always.  Done in cut-paper collage, they perfectly capture the changing nature of the day.  Some illustrations are crisp and clear, with detailed crickets and ferns.  Others are landscapes with mists and mountains that are soft and evocative.  Simply lovely.

A perfect marriage of science, poetry and art, this book will be adored by volcano fans and poetry fans alike.  Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt.