Starred review from April 1, 2016
Grades 3-6 *Starred Review* With plentiful diagrams, concise and clear text, and a lighthearted tone, this entry in the Stickmen's Guides to How Everything Works series is a stellar introduction to watercraft of all kinds. Opening with a brief time line highlighting key moments in the development of boats and ships, this engaging title continues with two-page spreads zeroing in on important components of ships and navigation, such as triangular sails, which help sailors use wind to travel in any direction; nuclear reactor engines on submarines; and the unique construction of deep-sea submersibles. Each well-explained concept is accompanied by attractive, cartoonish, yet detailed illustrations featuring cutaway views of various ships and clear diagrams demonstrating topics such as tacking, ballast, and hovercraft construction. Plenty of labels make the diagrams easy to follow, and the boatload of facts ensures that students will come away with a rich understanding not only of the parts of various types of watercraft but also the fundamental ways they move around. Deeply informative and pleasantly approachable, this is sure to make a splash.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)
July 1, 2016
With appeal for future engineers, this series looks at the history of selected machines and how they work, from basic design and function to inner workings. Technical drawings, including cross-sections and diagrams, and simple explanatory texts (in tiny font) illustrate, for example, how pistons are used to power engines. Stick figures throughout the books add unneeded but benign-enough novelty. Timeline. Glos., ind.
(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
January 1, 2016
An inside look at modern seagoing craft from water bikes to "ginormous" container ships, all crewed by stick figures. Sporting featureless bubble heads on vanishingly thin bodies, the small cartoon figures are barely visible but do provide a sense of scale. They also offer a bit of action as they work, pose, fall overboard, or float in the few spaces available on the overcrowded spreads. Also barely visible, at least on the pages with relatively dark backgrounds, is Farndon's chatty commentary, which is arranged in scattered blocks of tiny print set in two very thin and not particularly distinguishable typefaces. Along with a few unimpressively diminutive photos at the outset, the illustrations include simplified side views of a mix of actual and generic craft with portions cut away, plus schematic close-ups of propulsion systems, hull types, and sails. The co-published Stickmen's Guide to Trains and Automobiles offers similarly sketchy overviews of the major components of modern cars (including generic hybrid and electric vehicles) and trains. Both volumes open with quick bits of historical background and close with a flurry of fringe inventions (such as a paddleboat powered by oxen). Considering the fleets of more memorably illustrated, not to mention more legible, surveys already available, neither is likely to entice readers aboard for more than a glance. The gimmick's thin in more ways than one, and the content never sails beyond routine. (index) (Nonfiction. 7-10)
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