Day: July 11, 2017

Claymates by Dev Petty

| Tasha

Claymates by Dev Petty

Claymates by Dev Petty, illustrated by Lauren Eldridge (9780316303118, Amazon)

Two balls of clay meet one another and then are formed by an artist into an owl and a wolf. The two are left alone and quickly discover that they are able to change their own shapes as they like. They rapidly change from one form to another, elephants and peanuts, things big, small, flat and sharp. As the artist returns, the two balls of clay try to remember what they had originally been shaped as but don’t quite get it right. So back they go into a wolf and an owl and then eventually into balls of clay. But they aren’t done playing yet!

The text of the book is entirely done in a dialogue between the two characters, so it is simple and easy. The result is a book done in photographs that reads much more like a comic with speech bubbles. There is a delight in the photos and the clay shapes, evoking claymation movies and the joy of childhood play with clay.

Throughout the book, there is lots of humor both in the dialogue and the shapes that the clay takes. The illustrations also incorporate the tools the artist uses to shape the clay, and the early pages of the book show an image of the set and photography equipment. The clay shapes are clever and funny, inviting readers to explore clay themselves and start to make friends through play.

A joyful look at friendship and creativity. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

 

Shark Lady by Jess Keating

| Tasha

Shark Lady by Jess Keating

Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist by Jess Keating, illustrated by Marta Álvarez Miguéns (9781492642046, Amazon)

Eugenie was a young girl when she first visited an aquarium and fell deeply in love with the creatures there, particularly with the sharks. But it was the 1920’s and girls were expected to become housewives or secretaries not scientists. Still, Eugenie never gave up on her dream and continued to study sharks at the library and join the local aquarium as a member. At the time, people thought that sharks were heartless and frightening killers, but Eugenie set out to prove them all wrong. Eugenie got her degree and earned a place on a scientific vessel to study marine life. That was just the beginning of a career that spanned many decades, led to several books and articles, and proved that women have a place in science.

Keating shows the growth of Eugenie’s scientific aspirations in this nonfiction picture book, moving from her childhood fantasies of swimming with sharks to the lack of support at school and finally to the discoveries that she made as her dreams became reality. The book has a tone of pure curiosity and joy where readers will cheer Eugenie as she overcomes the many obstacles standing in her way.

The illustrations are lighthearted and playful. Aquarium hallways are filled with floating sharks and fish as Eugenie dreams about them. They celebrate the beauty of the ocean and its lifeforms, showing sharks as graceful and amazing rather than dangerous.

A vibrant and celebratory nonfiction picture book that embraces women in STEM wholeheartedly. Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from e-galley received from Edelweiss and Sourcebooks Jabberwocky.