Review: The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl

The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

I am not sure I accept the science behind the original accident (lightning causing a case of acquired savant syndrome), and it is a tiny bit problematic that a mathematical genius has to have happened accidentally, rather than being a naturally acquired ability, but if you accept the premise, the rest of the book turns out to be interesting. There are a number of discussable issues in the book that might make it an interesting read-aloud for older elementary or middle school kids: differences/oddities, outstanding ability, how the teacher deals with students, group projects, school requirements, lunchroom issues, etc. More things to think about than I expected. And I like the resolution/non-resolution of the ending.

View all my reviews

Review: Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13

Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13 by Helaine Becker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is Hidden Figures for the younger set and is well worth its while. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, but I think this book is even better at giving a coherent picture of how Katherine Johnson did what she did. If there is any critique I would make about the book, it would be that it doesn't make quite a big enough point about both the sexism and racism that she faced. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend it.

View all my reviews

Review: Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion

Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion by Loree Griffin Burns
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think my favorite part of this book is the story of how the main researcher get interested in following ocean currents: the Nike shoes showing up along the western coast of the US, followed by the bathtub toys. It is an interesting, and in many ways tragic, story of what we are doing to our oceans.

I do have one complaint about the copy of the book I got. The library covers the books with plastic, in order to preserve them for a long time. But the flyleaves of the book have great maps of the ocean currents, along with some text explaining parts of the maps. Unfortunately, some of the text is covered up by the plastic and the dust jacket, so, unless I would be bold enough to damage the cover, I couldn't read all of it. Since I dislike damaging books, I didn't. I love maps, though, and I am sorry these weren't repeated inside the book as well.

View all my reviews

Review: The Octopus Scientists: Exploring the Mind of a Mollusk

The Octopus Scientists: Exploring the Mind of a Mollusk by Sy Montgomery
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a gorgeously photographed book on a great topic. The only problem with it is that it is a bit too much for the audience that I assume it is designed for: older elementary through high school students. I like that the author introduced each of the researchers and explained how they became interested in octopuses. And it is helpful to detail the struggles that scientists have when doing field research. I must admit, however, that I skimmed many of the parts about the wonders and the beauty of the world in which the octopuses live. I was eager to hear more about the octopuses, not so much the different fish and other denizens of the deep. Still, I am enjoying these science books that I have been perusing lately.

View all my reviews

Review: It's Code Red!

It's Code Red! by Zapiro
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is probably better than the 3 stars I am giving it, but I can't tell how much better, since I don't know enough about South African politics. The cartoons, as is typical of editorial cartoons, depend quite a bit more on the reader's personal knowledge of the political events depicted than cartoons from the same country, but with a more personal focus, e.g., like Madam and Eve. I could understand much of the humor of Madam and Eve; it was more of a struggle with Zapiro. On the other hand, these cartoons also give me a bit more courage about the political situations around the world. In spite of corruption, infighting, and greed, there does seem to be some political progress. I hope that is the case for the United States as well.

View all my reviews

Review: The Science of Breakable Things

The Science of Breakable Things by Tae Keller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

OK, I admit, I didn't really read this book carefully. I read the first third of the book and then skimmed the rest, so you are welcome to completely discount this review. The book deals with the MC's mother's descent into depression. It is good that it indicates that depression is a long, on-going struggle, but it annoys me greatly that they didn't explain all this to the MC, Natalie, until close to the end of the book. The father should really have known much better. He should have known that kids will often blame themselves for issues that their parents have and he should have been MUCH more pro-active about explaining all of this to Natalie. If she had been 5 years old, I could see explaining it to her in simple terms, but the main character is in around 7th grade, so she would be 12 or 13 - plenty old enough to explain it in much clearer language. The "give her time" bit just doesn't suffice. I am glad for a book that deals with a parent's depression. I wish it had been handled more openly.

View all my reviews

Review: The New Ocean: The Fate of Life in a Changing Sea

The New Ocean: The Fate of Life in a Changing Sea by Bryn Barnard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought at first that this book had an unfortunate layout. There are LOTS of words on the pages, and the pages are large. The pictures are good, but I was afraid that the text would overwhelm them. To my surprise, the text was quite readable and interesting. The choices of living things to discuss were good: some are flourishing because of pollution, warming, and acidification, while others are suffering. The book gives a good perspective on change, in that it may throw off a delicate balance in different ways for different animals/plants.

Enjoyable and valuable, though saddening in many ways. We are such poor stewards of our Earth.

View all my reviews