Hottest, Coldest, Highest, Deepest by Steve Jenkins

1.     Bibliography

 Jenkins, Steve. Hottest, Coldest, Highest, Deepest. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998.

 ISBN: 978-0618494880

 2.     Plot Summary

 This short relatively simple nonfiction book gives several fascinating facts about the earth and its superlatives. Readers will learn where the hottest spot on the earth is, where the deepest spot of the ocean is, and where the highest peak in the world is.

 3.     Critical Analysis

 Accuracy: Jenkins does not include a list of sources in his picture children's book. He does, however, include excerpts of maps in each page and a more extensive map at the end of the book showing where each location resides in the world. Jenkins also includes little graphics of information for reference. For example, readers can see how tall the highest mountain is in relation to The Empire State Building.

 Organization: Each page contains a superlative (for example the highest spot on the earth) a brief blurb explaining the location and what makes it important, an excerpt of a map, and a beautifully colored textured collage. At the back of the book, readers will find a complete world map with labels.

 Design: As stated above, each page is laid out in an aesthetically pleasing way to include facts, maps, diagrams and infographics and a colorful textured image.

 Style: Jenkins keeps his writing brief, allowing the images, collages, diagrams, and maps do most of the telling. Jenkins’ collages are a beautiful addition to this book. His collages seem multidimensional and very textured. Several seem to pop out at the reader; even so much as to make the reader want to touch the image.  His collages include a variety of landscapes and creatures all residing in the various locations around the world.
4.     Review Excerpts

 From School Library Journal: “Browsers will pick up this delightful picture book and read it through completely. This eye-catching introduction to geography will find a lot of use in libraries and classrooms.”

 From Kirkus Reviews: “Once again, Jenkins (Big and Little, 1996, etc.) provides jaw-dropping facts and extremely elegant paper collages to illustrate the amazing natural world.”
5.     Connections

 Also by Steve Jenkins

 Biggest, Strongest, Fastest
By Steve Jenkins
ISBN: 978-0395861363

 Actual Size
By Steve Jenkins
ISBN: 978-0547512914

 What Do You Do When Something Wants To Eat You?
By Steve Jenkins
ISBN: 978-0618152438

 Hottest, Coldest, Highest, Deepest would make a wonderful addition to a geography unit. Students could make their own picture version of this book describing the school. For example Coldest room in the school, farthest away from the cafeteria, etc.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

One Last Word: Wisdom From the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes

1.     Bibliography Grimes, Nikki. One last word : wisdom from the harlem renaissance . New York, NY: Bloomsbury USA, 2017. ISBN: 978-1619635548 2.     Plot Summary Written in the “Golden Shovel” form, Nikki Grimes shares an anthology of poems embodying stories, experiences, and “wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance”. 3.     Critical Analysis Nikki Grimes writes her anthology One Last Word ever so cleverly using the "Golden Shovel" form. Grimes includes her inspiration poem and she bolds out a line or stanza as her inspiration. Grimes takes every word of the line, stanza or in some cases the entire poem and puts the words separately in the right margin, one on each line. Then, she crafts a new poem incorporating the words. The effect is essentially that the theme of her inspiration poems bleeds into her writing, but at the same time, she organizes stories and experiences from African Americans. Through her powerful use o...
Read more

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming

1.     Bibliography Fleming, Candace. The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia . New York: Schwartz & Wade Books, 2014. ISBN: 978-0375867828 2.     Plot Summary Flemming tells the fascinating tale of the fall of Russia and the circumstances leading up to the mysterious fall and end of Tsar Nicholas and his family and the rise of Communist Russia   3.     Critical Analysis Fleming does a phenomenal job of telling the multifaceted story of Tsar Nicholas and his wife Alexandra and their four daughters Olga, Tatiana, Marie, Anastasia and treasured son Alexei. Although the story of pre-World War I Russia and the birth of communism could read as boring or dry, Flemings writings are anything but dry. The Family Romanov reads as a storybook unfolding before the reader’s eyes. Her use of first-hand accounts, dialogue, pictures, and historical information make this an incredibly gripping read....
Read more

They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group

1.     Bibliography Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group . Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014. ISBN: 978-0544225824 2.     Plot Summary  Bartoletti explains where the K.K.K. originated, how it commenced, who started it, and the bitter feelings of the South that gave way to the horrible acts of the “American Terrorist Group”. Although this book tells the tale of an extremely hard-to-swallow time in history, readers will ultimately come to see Bartoletti's purpose in writing this book. Bartoletti wishes to understand "why?", to give a memorial to the victims of the K.K.K., and to provide hope to tomorrow for more kindness, love, tolerance, and acceptance. 3.     Critical Analysis Accuracy: Bartoletti receives praise (and rightly so) from multiple sources for her well-documented research, sources, travel, and experiences that molded and shaped t...
Read more