(1) K-3 Illustrated by Maris Wicks. Perched in a treehouse on the border of an Australian rainforest, a young child ("you") keeps a journal chronicling the activities of a busy male satin bowerbird. The child first observes this royal blue DIYer constructing a bower (dubbed by Gianferrari as his "bachelor pad"). Like all bowerbirds, he painstakingly erects a two-walled arch of sticks leading into the space; he then decorates it with found objects (feathers, straws, and the like--all blue, this bowerbird species' signature color) to attract females. One comes, quickly followed by younger satins who repeatedly vandalize the bower. Our human observer shares a few objects to help him rebuild; a female approaches his new digs, and the two mate (offstage). The female retreats to build her nest and, with a progression depicted through comic panels, the nestlings become fledglings and depart, eventually to begin their own cycle. An author's note expands the text with particularly accessible explanations, including both print and internet resources for further inquiry. The curious child provides readers with a literary avatar, allowing them an immediacy in observing the actions of this fascinating bird. Bright, digitally colored illustrations with black outlines depict the action, offering visual confirmation for the author's textual comparisons in nature to common household items. In one case, the bird decorates with a "welcome mat," clearly shown to be a blue feather. Gianferrari (Fungi Grow, rev. 9/23) puts out her own welcome mat for young naturalists.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Maris Wicks. Mary Anning (1799–1847) loved "treasure hunting" with her father and brother along the storm-pounded cliffs of their seaside English hometown, Lyme Regis. The treasures were fossilized shell and bone "curios" they'd sell to tourists. After their father died, her brother discovered what he thought was a giant crocodile head, but it was Mary, at just thirteen, who painstakingly uncovered the entire body. The skeleton (which she thought looked like a dragon) made newspaper headlines before being sold and displayed in a museum and named an "ichthyosaur" (fish lizard). During her lifetime, self-taught Anning discovered five additional extinct creatures, including two species of plesiosaurs. Though she rarely received proper credit at the time, today she is considered the "mother of paleontology." Marsh's mainly upbeat, child-centered text is complemented by Wicks's (Primates, rev. 5/13; Astronauts, rev. 5/20) comic illustration style. Bold pencil outlines and vibrant, digitally colored hues almost pop off the page. Wicks incorporates a few graphic-novel staples--dynamic character expressions, sound effects, and speech bubbles--to add playful touches to the story. Also noteworthy are the recurring luminescent drawings outlined in white that denote Anning's imaginings, whether of extinct creatures she hopes to (or does) discover or of her deceased father watching over her. Back matter includes more details about Anning's life, quick facts about "Mary's dragons" (also creatively featured on the endpapers), information on "How to Become a Paleontologist," and a selected bibliography.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

(2) YA Illustrated by Maris Wicks. At the attention-grabbing start of ­Ottaviani and Wicks's second graphic ­collaboration (Primates, rev. 5/13), a series of panels shows a "famous astronaut" (gender intentionally obscured) shedding gear one item at a time until only stark white long johns remain. With a page-turn, readers meet (female) ex-astronaut Mary Cleave, who drolly admits that she's "maybe not so famous." But she gets the spotlight here--and the narrative reins, too--in a dense and riveting biography that not only tracks Cleave's path to NASA's Group 9 (the second astronaut class to include women) but also weaves in the voices of many trailblazers: Valentina Tereshkova, a Soviet cosmonaut and the first woman in space; the Mercury 13, thirteen American women who passed the same rigorous physical tests given to male astronaut candidates; and Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. A well-researched and lively text and tidily composed yet expressive illustrations capture the women's passion, ambition, and know-how--and their indignation and fury at the sexism they faced. Inspirational and funny ("That was Sally's ride") and full of nitty-gritty scientific details about astronaut training and life and work aboard a space shuttle, the book illuminates the women's tough journey to prove that "space is for everyone." Back matter includes an author's note (addressing composite characters and invented dialogue), a bibliography, a how-this-book-was-made spread, and character sketches.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2020

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Maris Wicks. A casually pleasant rhyming text narrates a family's day hike in the woods, from the chaotic early-morning start with four kids and a dog to an exhausted but happy return home. The adventure is illustrated with appropriately busy art including many humorous asides, such as a parent-child argument over hiking boots versus pink shoes and the resultant sullen teen in the pre-hike snapshot.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(2) YA Illustrated by Maris Wicks. A graphic format admirably propels this lightly fictionalized group biography of "Leakey's Angels": Jane Goodall (chimps in Tanzania), Dian Fossey (gorillas in Rwanda), and Biruté Galdikas (orangutans in Borneo). In a neat division of labor, the scientists themselves narrate the story while speech balloons and the small, tidy comic illustrations take readers to each moment. The tone is lively but respectful. Reading list. Bib.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2013