Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors

 Author: Joyce Sidman

Illustrator: Beckie Prange

Peach’s Picks Rating:

 

Year of publication: 2010

City of publication: New York

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

ISBN: 978-0-618-71719-4

Author website:  http://www.joycesidman.com/

Illustrator website: http://www.beckieprange.com/

Media used for illustrations: Linocuts, hand-colored with watercolor. Text of the book is sent in Berling, Caslon Antique, and ITC Legacy Sans.

Annotation: This blending of poetry, science, and art examines how 14 plant and animal species survived through time. The poems are beautifully illustrated with each entry providing scientific information about the poem’s subject.

Personal reaction to the book: Fourteen poems about plants and animals blend science and art to make a unique book of poetry and nonfiction. The poems, the accompanying text, and the artwork offer well-researched science facts that celebrate earth’s ubiquitous life forms including bacteria, mollusks, grasses, and humans. Facts show how these life forms have avoided extinction and continue to thrive. A glossary at the end of the book includes the definition for “ubiquitous”. The poems are written in a variety of formats including concrete style, free version, and rhymed verse. The full-color art works perfectly with the text extending and clarifying concepts. Eye-catching endpapers feature a creative timeline representing 4.6 billion years of earth’s life. Author’s notes are included offering a brief bibliography. Illustrator’s notes explain the timeline endpapers. The cover is textual, inviting readers to run their hands over it. This book reads well aloud. It can be shared by a large group or enjoyed individually. Everyone is sure to learn something from this beautiful, unique book.

General curricular connections:

• Poetry
• Science / biology

Recommended grade levels:

School Library Journal recommends the book for use with grades 1-6

Booklist recommends the book for use with grades 2-5

Peach’s Picks recommends the book for use with grades 1-6

Awards/Recognitions:

Junior Library Guild Selection

Booklist starred review

Horn Book starred review

Kirkus Review starred review

Publishers Weekly starred review

School Library Journal starred review

Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12, Life Science category, 2011

ALA Notable Children's Books, Older Readers, 2011

Note: This entry applies to the assignment criteria to review books published during 2010-2011.

Rhyme: Page 14; “Gecko on the Wall” is a rhyming poem with an AB rhyme scheme.

Personification: Page, 23; “Fluff Head” likens dandelion to people who have blonde hair, “They were all blondes, of course…”

Book cover picture retrieved from http://www.joycesidman.com/Bookshelf.html