Children's Nonfiction
-- Publishers Weekly, 4/17/2006
A starred or boxed review indicates a book of outstanding quality.
;Ten Worlds: Everything That Orbits the Sun
Ken Croswell. Boyds Mills, $19.95 (60p) ISBN 1-59078-423-5
On the basis of its striking design and photographs, this handsome, large-format volume is well worthy of praise. And astronomer Crosswell's (See the Stars) concise yet conversational, information-packed text wins it sky-high accolades in the narrative sphere as well. As the author takes readers on an elucidating tour of the solar system—traveling outwards from the sun—brilliantly colored photos of each planet and of their moons (mostly NASA shots) pop dramatically from a black background, while the text appears against pastel-toned panels. Croswell authoritatively explains the physical characteristics, temperature and atmospheric makeup of the planets; tells how they were named; examines comets, meteors and asteroids; and details the knowledge gleaned from spacecrafts' photographs and specific astronomers' discoveries. He confidently puts forth his own theories (he believes in the theory that an asteroid killed off the dinosaurs and allowed other forms of life to evolve, including humans). Timely references to recently launched spacecraft and their missions, and an intriguing look at "the tenth planet" (discovered in 2005, the planet takes 559 years to orbit the sun), attest to the book's relevance. Colorful, accessible analogies abound: remarking that stars shine during the day as well as the night, yet are washed out by sunlight, Croswell notes, "In the same way, you can't hear a soft flute when a loud car goes by." Concluding with charts that handily round up statistics about the planets and their moons, this eye-opening book will feed kids' curiosity about the worlds beyond earth. Ages 6-up. (May)
Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the MoonCatherine Thimmesh. Houghton, $19.95 (80p) ISBN 0-618-50757-4
This behind-the-scenes look at the first Apollo moon landing has the feel of a public television documentary in its breadth and detail. The book opens with several photographs of people huddled around TVs to view the event (one shows Italians watching a small set at an outdoor café). The author then delves into the back story of the organizations and hundreds of thousands of people who made the 1969 mission possible. Readers meet 24-year-old "computer whiz kid Jack Garman," who helped work through worrisome computer glitches during the Eagle's landing, as well as one of the seamstresses who sewed the spacesuits ("We didn't worry too much until the guys on the moon started jumping up and down. And that gave us a little bit of an eyebrow twitch"). The 16 chapter-like segments flow chronologically, from John F. Kennedy's 1961 speech to Apollo 11's splashdown. Thimmesh (Madame President) peppers her lengthy, fact-filled narrative with folksy adages (e.g., "Here they were, less than 500 feet from the moon, and just about plumb out of fuel"). The colloquialisms sometime seem at odds with the myriad of engineering acronyms and jargon. But the author maintains a conversational tone, and tackles and explains tough topics such as "cluster interference" in parachute deployment and a bit of the chemistry behind developing the astronauts' dramatic photographs, many of which illustrate the story. Even if the jargon gives readers pause, the little-known facts will keep their interest level high. Ages 9-up. (June)
The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco ManzanoMargarita Engle, illus. by Sean Qualls. Holt, $16.95 (192p) ISBN 0-8050-7706-5
Engle (Skywriting, for adults) achieves an impressive synergy between poetry and biography as she illuminates the tortured life of the 19th-century Cuban poet. Born a slave, Juan is kept like "a poodle, her pet/ with my curly dark hair/ and small child's brown skin," by his "godmother" and owner, Beatriz. She grants his birth parents manumission (for a price), while refusing to free Juan until her own death. Juan shows talent for memorization, and recites literature for Beatriz's amusement. Despite his mother's payment, Juan is transferred, at Beatriz's death, to another owner, the Marquesa de Prado Ameno, who punishes Juan cruelly. There he also secretly learns to read and write—posing a threat to the Marquesa and the social order. Engle's compelling poems shift in viewpoint among seven people, and the technique works beautifully: readers thus draw their own conclusions from Juan, his desperate parents, brutal owners, the Marquesa's sympathetic son and the conflicted Overseer. Juan's poems articulate both his enduring pain and dream of release ("I sit tied and gagged./ She is there, behind the curtain./ .../ She can't hear the stories I tell myself in secret"), while recurring bird imagery signifies elusive freedom. Quall's (The Baby on the Way) expressionistic half-tone illustrations extend Engle's exploration of race as a cornerstone of the social caste in Spanish colonial Cuba. (Juan and his family are dark-skinned; the women who own him use a powder of crushed eggshells and rice to lighten their complexion.) An author's note and excerpts from Manzano's own poetry round out this sophisticated volume. Ages 10-up. (Apr.)
Chew on This: Everything You Don't Want to Know About Fast FoodEric Schlosser and
Charles Wilson. Houghton, $16 (304p) ISBN 0-618-71031-0
The author of Fast Food Nation partners with Wilson to serve up a stinging, often startling exposé on this country's pervasive, lucrative fast-food industry, for young people. The book's scope is exhaustive and sometimes exhausting, starting with a history of the hamburger, the advent of drive-in restaurants and the debut and mushrooming of McDonald's. The text dwells on this chain's effective if manipulative marketing campaigns aimed at children, noting that its outlets disperse more than 1.5 billion toys annually. The book also covers the plight of fast-food restaurant workers; the steep mark-up on fast-food items; the low nutritional value of many school cafeteria menus featuring fast food; and the fast-food industry's ample contribution to America's obesity epidemic. Making for sometimes unpleasant though undeniably edifying reading is a lengthy account of how the animals that provide fast food meats are fed, slaughtered and processed. In some cases, the subtitle's promise comes through in inadvertent ways, as the narrative provides perhaps an overabundance of details. But in the end, Schlosser and Wilson leave readers with a powerful suggestion that "the solution starts with you," urging them to consider the ramifications of placing an order at a fast-food counter, thereby setting into motion "the ripple effect near and far." Many who have digested the information dished out here will do as the convincing authors hope: head for the exit. Copious endnotes document sources of statistics and statements. Ages 11-13. (May)
