Thank you for visiting.
This content is exclusive to subscribers only.
As a digital subscriber, you’ll receive unlimited access to Horn Book web exclusives and extensive archives, as well as access to our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database.
To access other site content, visit The Horn Book homepage.
Log In
Don't have a Horn Book Account?
Register Now
Register Now
Robbins, Ken
8 Reviews
(2)
K-3
Robbins's picture book photo essay is a multilayered investigation of standard units of measurement--their definitions, purposes, origins, contexts, and histories. Clear and well-organized, the text is invitingly conversational and chock-full of interesting tidbits. Photographs go beyond informative to arresting: there's a photo of a stone that's so crisp you can almost feel its warmth and texture.
Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2010
(2)
4-6
Sampling significant tales, social history, and factual oddments, Robbins implicitly suggests how much there is to know about nine foods we likely take for granted. The kind of information differs from topic to topic, which may limit reference use, but readers drawn by Robbins's attractive photographic portraits of these fruits and vegetables will get an intriguing taste of wide-ranging facts and lore.
Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2009
(3)
K-3
The story of where and how pumpkins grow, from seed to harvest, is told with appealing photographs and minimal text. Pumpkins of all sizes and developmental stages are part of the narrative--from palm-sized gourds to a record-breaker weighing more than a thousand pounds. Instructions on safely carving jack-o'-lanterns are included.
Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo
(2)
K-3
This gorgeous book focuses on seed basics: differences in shapes and sizes, and links between structure and function in terms of seed transport. Photos show seeds alongside the whole plants and fruits they come from, and the examples are well chosen to highlight primarily familiar plants. The questions raised by the engaging photos are an effective gateway into discussion of plant reproduction.
Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2005
(3)
K-3
This entertaining account describes how apples are grown, harvested, and used. Particularly informative are the pages that discuss the planting and maintenance of orchards. The hand-tinted photos of the apples and orchards have a quirky, authentic vividness that lends warmth to the text.
Reviewer: Jim St. Claire
(4)
K-3
With well-documented, varied illustrations ranging from a primitive drawing to photos to engravings, this book encapsulates the history of the American buffalo, or bison, including its migration from Asia, its peak of fifty million in 1875, its near-destruction, and its contemporary rebound. The conversational text reads easily, but its anti-European agenda is at times quite heavy-handed.
Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian
(3)
PS
The pictures in this book show trucks as art, while the text provides simple descriptions of different kinds of trucks and the lives of truck drivers. Die-hard trucksters craving close-ups and realistic details may be disappointed by the manipulated photographs. Though some of the images are rather unsettling (harshly colored skin and hair on the people), others are truly beautiful (dramatically lit landscapes surrounding a single truck).
Reviewer: Lolly Robinson
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 1999
(4)
K-3
In this book, which explores the shape of leaves from thirteen deciduous trees and explains why leaves change color, spare, simple double-page spreads are enhanced by brilliantly colored life-size photographs. This introduction is containing little information but handsomely presented.
Reviewer: Ellen Fader
8 reviews
We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.