Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 08/26/2022 Gr 1–5—Fifteen innovative inventions from all over the world are highlighted in this fascinating look at nature-inspired design, or biomimicry. From birds to bullet trains, beetles to water bottles, and honeycomb to housing projects, each invention focuses on ways it imitates a physical characteristic of an animal, plant, or habitat. Children will delight in such futuristic designs as an armadillo-inspired collapsible car and a flexible robotic arm with octopus-like tentacles. Spreads with colorful illustrations and spare, lyrical text written in the form of Japanese tanka poems (which follow a set number of syllables on each line) invite careful attention to both words and pictures. Whether this is a science book written as poetry, or a poetry book written about science, the text could easily be adapted to lessons from the primary grades all the way though middle school. Back matter includes a detailed description of each invention and its natural counterpart, author's notes explaining more about nature-inspired design and Japanese tanka poems, and an extensive list of sources. VERDICT A fascinating and creative look at a little-known STEM topic that is accessible to a wide audience. Highly recommended.—Sue Morgan - Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 09/15/2022 The author of Dreaming Up (2012) and Water Land (2018) returns to structure and nature, this time merging them to introduce the concept of biomimicry. Fifteen tanka, a Japanese poetry format with five unrhymed lines, describe an animal, plant, or natural structure that has inspired humans to invent something similar for their own use. Each double-page spread contains one poem on a page illustrated with textured, digital artwork highlighting the natural element in play, while the facing page bears a color photograph of the architecture or technology created in that element’s likeness. Brief notes accompany the photographs, clearly describing the connection between the paired illustrations. Examples include a bullet train that resembles the quiet, streamlined kingfisher; a smog-absorbing shell of a building that functions like porous sea sponges and corals; and space-saving cars that fold up like armadillos. Concluding thumbnails offer more information on each pair, such as the physical characteristics of animals, building locations, and technology behind inventions. Author’s notes also explain biomimicry and the tanka format in more detail. A true STEAM book. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.