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Quickshots #13

The Shark Lady by Jess Keating

Via beautiful illustrations, The Shark Lady by Jess Keating introduces readers young and old to Eugenie Clark, a girl with a love of sharks. Despite being old many times growing up that women couldn’t be deep-sea divers or zoologists, and that she should find something appropriate to do with her life, Eugenie persisted. She went in to make numerous dives, and learn more and more about sharks and shark behaviour. Eugenie lived into her 90s, and even made a dive mere weeks before her passing.

My cubs and I found this to be a very inspirational book. It has great lessons in never giving up your dreams, and what the power of persistence can achieve. Eugenie ignored all the people telling her women were rubbish for that kind of work, and went in to prove her naysayers wrong again and again. Highly recommended! A must for the shelf if any animal-loving child, and a great classroom tool.

***Many thanks to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS/ Jabberwocky for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

 

The Great Race by Christopher Corr

The Great Race is a cute little story bringing to life the folktale about the creation of the Chinese Zodiac.

For the longest time there was no way to keep track of the passing time. One day, the Emperor decided to hold a great race. He invited all the animals to join in. The first twelve to cross the river would be given the honour of having a year named after them.

I love myths, legends, and folktales. It’s neat to see how useful information is encoded into stories. This story, simply told aloud, teaches kids (and adults) the sequence of the Chinese Zodiac, and provides a duel explanation of why the Zodiac consists of these animals, and also why cats and rats don’t get along.

The artwork was… interesting. It’s a bit too abstract for me. I prefer things to look a little more realistic. I read this with my cubs though, and the younger ones really liked the pictures. I’m guessing that art is geared towards the younger readers.

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

 

Birding is My Favourite Video Game by Rosemary Mosco

A quirky collection of one-shot cartoons featuring all manner of critters, from birds (duh!), to salamanders, squirrels, and even plants. Most of the cartoons present interesting facts in a most humorous manner. You’ll learn about the foraging patterns of tree climbing birds like the woodpecker, birdie evolution, why hammerheads have hammer shaped heads, and more.

I loved the ‘Nature Names for Your Baby’! Haha, Hellbender and Centaury. Yep, those are our next cubs’ names. I also really liked the several different cartoons on climate change, and human pollution. They make the concepts understandable on many levels, without truly making light of a serious situation. This is the perfect gift for the nature-lovers with a sense of humour in your life!

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

 

Pandora’s Box by Julia Dweck & Chris Robertson

Pandora’s Box s a cute tale about a penguin named Pandora, who is different from her many brothers. She is curious, and active, looking for adventure. One day Pandora dove deep into the ocean, and found a giant box. She brought it up and tried to open it. She tried and tried, but couldn’t. At first her family and friends tried to dissuade her, fearful of what might be inside. Finally, they chose to help her, because she was their friend. What they found in the box was a dazzling surprise that cannot still be seen today!

This was such a cute story. It’s a modern ‘myth’ explaining a natural phenomenon, and a neat reversal on the classical Greek myth of Pandora, who opened a box releasing bad things.  This Pandora released a wondrous glory! The artwork is charming, and the rhyming style of the story made it fun to read. I shared it with my younger cubs, who absolutely adored it!

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Xist Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

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