Nonfiction Bummer!
As librarians know, children who enjoy nonfiction often identify their
choices as "true" books.
Global Warming by Seymour Simon
. HarperCollins, 2010
Seymour Simon's books are beloved. I can personally attest to the popularity of
Lightning,
Tornadoes,
Sharks
and
Storms. The bindings of my library copies were loose and the page edges were softened from many turnings. The imprimatur of the Smithsonian Institution now gives his books additional authority.
Alas, I suspect this title has fallen victim to the Pluto Effect. When Pluto lost its planet status, libraries had to scramble to update their space/planet collections. In the meantime, did the Pluto books get chucked-out? It was still a dwarf planet. The information in the books was still accurate in many ways. It was just the conclusion that Pluto was a planet that was the issue. Was it enough to put up disclaimers until new material could be acquired?
Similarly, late in 2009, when data gathering problems and accusations of data loss, fabrication and manipulation at the National Climatic Data Center and British University of East Anglia Climate Research Unit, were revealed, seemingly de facto conclusions about the Earth's climate were called into question. Even the vaunted IPCC had to apologize for "misrepresenting" Himalayan glacier-melting data.
The publishing cycle is long. The folks at HarperCollins could not have foreseen Climategate.
Global warning
Simon addresses the issue of global warming by presenting the concept and outlining the possible causes. He writes, "In 2007, a report by 2,500 scientists from 130 countries concluded that humans are responsible for much of the current warming."
I checked the back for a 'works cited' or 'references' but the citation to this "2007 report" was not included.
Which report?
Who issued it?
I assume he is referring to the IPPC's 2007 report that won them a Nobel prize? This book is an introduction to the subject. Could he have not at least included the title of the report?
We teach kids to ALWAYS cite a direct reference. To not do that here is bad modeling.
Simon's writing style is always straight forward and engaging. He explains the terminology well and presents a good overview of different sources of greenhouse gases and summarizes why scientists believe they are affecting the climate.
Breathtaking photos of adorable polar bear families are featured inside
the book and on the cover. These animals have certainly become the poster
child-animal for all global warming books. They must have a deal with
the
WWF that no book on this subject can be published without their faces on the cover.
The use of photographs is a Seymour Simon trademark. In this title the photos are used to illustrate "concepts" of flooding, drought, air pollution etc. but slip towards reportage of Simon's speculations.
Simon repeats the much disputed claim that should the Antarctic ice cap
melt,
sea levels would rise 20 feet. Although he qualifies it with "...it
does not look as if the entire ice cap will melt any time soon..." the
statement is illustrated with a photo of people, caught unaware, struggling through
dangerous flood waters. The photo, covering 2/3 of the page, gives the
impression that the flooding from rising sea levels could happen at any
moment instead of over a millennia.
The rooftops of homes and red barns barely show above the flood waters on page 18. The image is more reminiscent of
river flooding in Nashville or the Midwest than the
coastal flooding it is supposed to be illustrating. There are
no
captions so the reader has no idea where the photo was taken or what caused this flood. If
the goal is an emotional punch, the pictures work, but as photographic evidence
of rising sea levels, I think not.
His juxtaposition of two photos of the Grinnell and Salamander Glaciers
from 1957 and from 2004 is well done and depicts the retreat of the
glaciers. The camera angle appears to be the same.
He discusses the threat to coral reefs
caused by the El Niño weather pattern and even shares a frightening photo of a dead reef, bleached white. Is the El Niño/El Niña
pattern unnatural and the direct result of global warming? Did global warming cause the demise of this particular coral reef? This seems
to be the implication. Is this true?
Simon admits the
Earth's climate is "very complex, and many factors play important roles
in determining how the climate changes." (p. 9) He goes on to list
some of the "natural variations" that could play a role. Unfortunately,
none of the "natural variations" are worthy of a photo apparently.
A picture is worth, how many words?
Is it honest to show an
industrial smokestack emitting--well, what is that exactly?
Particulate? Or is it steam? (no captions) and NOT show the
"natural" Mount Pinatubo eruption?
On page 27, Simon concedes, "Our planet may be going through a
natural cycle of getting warmer" and acknowledges that there is a debate
about what humans can do about it. Readers, without prior knowledge, will not gain any insight into
the nature of the debate though. The photos of cars, industry and city smog suggest the only explanation could be man-made global warming. His earlier statement that "most scientists agree
that something different is happening now."(p. 9) seems to imply the absence of debate which is disingenuous as
large portions of the scientific community do NOT agree that global
warming is caused by humans.
He lists the often-repeated things people can do to use less energy. A photo of a wind
turbine and a solar panel illustrate some alternative ways of energy
production. He does not share the environmental hazards posed by the
fluorescent light bulbs he suggests nor the potential
health risks from living near wind turbines. The heavy burden on family budgets and nations'
economies that higher energy costs will cause are also not addressed.
- The climate needs to be studied.
- Data needs to be gathered.
- Scientists need to work, honestly to understand climate pattens and changes.
- Children benefit from an introduction to these issues but they deserve a balanced, not sensationalized presentation on the subject.
They want a "true" book.
To sum up:
- Good on ya-s for including a good glossary and an index, along with a list of "Read More About It" websites, and for showcasing the case for man-made global warming. The Seymour Simon book style photos are beautiful and high quality and sourced at the front of the book.
- Bummers for NO captions, NO list of of sources, and
for photos with NO context, as well as questionable and manipulative photo choices and positioning. Bummers for dashing my hopes that the Smithsonian imprimatur would deliver an even-handed, kid friendly look at this issue.
Simon's
books have a long shelf life. Hopefully, the next edition will better
documented and reflect new research. I know page real estate is precious in a child's nonfiction but they should have squeezed in a list of sources for their speculations. I hope they did more research than just watch one movie.
That would be...inconvenient.
all Books, 2010 (review copy provided by the publisher)
detailed. Information about each NBA division and franchise is also included along with some "funky facts" about each team. I did not know Mavericks guard Jason Terry wears 5 pairs of socks because it is "more comfortable" when he plays.
by Frank Serafini. KidsCan Press, 2010 
folding are especially popular. Jackson has gone beyond airplanes in this book and focuses on other "action" forms. Dogs, birds, beaks, frogs, fish, and crocodiles bark, snap, and flap. Jackson's directions are clear and easy to interpret. He defines the complexity of the models by "simple," "intermediate," and "advanced." It occurs to me that the catapult on page 115 could have many uses to bored and imaginative students. He does not neglect aeronauts and does include some flying models as well.
the early years of Bruce Lee 
