Jennifer Berne (1)

When all of the other starlings fell out of the nest and discovered typical starling delights, Calvin instead fell head first into a book. After that, he was done for – a confirmed bookworm birdie.

While his siblings and many, many cousins spent their time in flight school preparing for life as usual as a birdie, Calvin instead pursued a path he wrought himself. Striking out on a path of self-education, he spent time at the library, and even more time reading, and reading, and reading. That show more explains why Calvin Can’t Fly.

Though he was thought odd, this journey of educational exploration equipped Calvin with knowledge vital to the future safety and well being of his family, and he did eventually learn some of the basic starling skills such as flying as well.

Our family is filled with bookworms, so Calvin’s addiction to the written word seems completely reasonable when I read this whimsical picture book that celebrates literacy to my children. Keith Bendis’ action filled, and at times comical illustrations add a light-hearted sense of fun to the reading experience as well.

The reassuring message here is that even when faced with misunderstanding and negative peer pressure, pursuing your own dreams (even when they result in a pumped up, book-based vocabulary) is a good thing.

Reviewed at quiverfullfamily.com show less

This is an exceptionally good science book for children interested in science, natural history, and especially the ocean.

The information provided is wonderful and as thorough as could be expected from a picture book. In fact, the book is dense with information. There is an informative and engaging poem in the book proper and it’s excellent but it’s the wealth of material at the end that make this book special. There is a note from the author, a note from the illustrator, an illustrated show more general timeline of creatures including an impressive fold out page, a list of key terms and concepts, and helpful lists of additional resources: books, videos & pages for children, resources/pages for educators, a mention of the availability of museums & aquariums, and a short selected bibliography.

The illustrations are marvelous. Most of them are gorgeous and fascinating. I liked the ones in the first third and the last quarter of the book better than some of the middle (sea life) pictures but they’re all fun to view. That page toward the end that folds out large and includes tons of facts is spectacular.

It's a well-designed and put together book. It would make a lovely gift for many children. I also hope that every library will have it available for borrowing.

4-1/2 stars show less

American author Jennifer Berne and French illustrator Éric Puybaret team up in this picture-book biography of French explorer, inventor, oceanographer and film-maker Jacques Cousteau. From his early childhood, when he found water so fascinating and made his own home movies, through his time as a sailor, the narrative here chronicles how Cousteau eventually found a way to pursue his one true passion: exploring the world's oceans. Inventing an Aqua-lung, which allowed him to stay underwater show more longer than ever before, he recorded what he saw with his friends and colleagues, opening up a whole new world - the underwater world - previously unknown to humanity...

Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau is the second picture-book biography of Cousteau that I have read, following upon Dan Yacarino's The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau, and on the whole I found it quite engaging. Berne's narrative is involving, and she manages both to capture the allure that the sea had for Cousteau, and to highlight all the many areas of achievement where he excelled. The accompanying artwork is lovely, with lots of bluish-green tones underwater, and some really beautiful depictions of aquatic life. I do feel that there should have been some more information as to dates, something entirely missing from both the main narrative and the author's note. Many child readers won't already be familiar with Cousteau, so that information could be very helpful to them, in situating him in a historical context. Leaving that criticism aside, this is one I would recommend to picture-book readers interested in the oceans, in exploration, or in Cousteau. show less

Author Jennifer Berne and illustrator Becca Stadtlander join forces in this gorgeous picture-book biography of poet Emily Dickinson. Following her story from her birth in 1830 through her death fifty-six years later, the narrative combines Berne's description of the events of Dickinson's life with quotations from her poetry. These quotations often highlight the central emotional motif of a given observation, whether it be about the poet's preoccupation with death, or her love for the natural show more world around her. The after matter includes more information about Dickinson, a note about exploring poetry, and notes from both author and illustrator...

On Wings of Words: The Extraordinary Life of Emily Dickinson is the first book I have read from Berne, but the third from Stadtlander, after Eugenie Doyle's Sleep Tight Farm: A Farm Prepares for Winter and David Elliott's On the Wing. I initially sought it out, in fact, because I was looking for more of Stadtlander's work, and I was certainly not disappointed on that score! The illustrations here are simply gorgeous, with a lovely color palette, beautifully expressive figures (both human and animal), and some very creative compositions, visually speaking. There were so many scenes where the artwork really worked to explore the abstract ideas in the text, but one of my favorites was the two-page spread showing Emily and her love of books:



Just gorgeous! The text is engaging, and strikes a nice balance between the informative writing by Berne and the creative poetry of Dickinson herself. Recommended to young poets, to picture-book readers looking for titles about Emily Dickinson, and to fans of Becca Stadtlander's artwork. show less