(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jam Dong. In clear language, this book explains the long, natural process that creates crude oil; how it’s refined; and how it’s used to provide fuel or to make plastics. Dong’s colorful mixed-media illustrations, which were processed digitally, help to add clarity. The text, which uses oil as a first-person narrator, doesn’t shy away from the problems with using fossil fuels and also discusses renewable sources of energy. A glossary and several informational notes are appended.

Reviewer: Marva Anne Hinton

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jam Dong. Readers follow every step of the (fictional) container ship Carolina, which is carrying freight from a port in Asia to delivery in the Netherlands. Carolina acts as narrator, initially providing details about the process of docking and loading, while informative cutaway illustrations display the diverse cargo. Dong's clear, flat, geometrical digital illustrations also illuminate size. The massive ship dwarfs a pair of large baleen whales swimming by; readers turn the page and see the ship alone on the ocean--"a drop of color / on a canvas of blue." As the ship rounds the coast of India, personification becomes more pronounced as once "lonely" vessels assemble in the Suez Canal. But the canal is blocked, and Carolina must divert its path, weathering a fierce storm off the Cape of Good Hope before continuing north through the Atlantic. Arriving in Amsterdam, the unloading begins: "Trade is flowing, the world keeps going. But oceans away, new ports await." An outline map clearly shows Carolina's route, and readers can return to it noting specific points of the journey, such as where the ship meets rough weather. A wealth of back matter, most aimed at an older audience, includes notes about trade and containerization; a glossary; potential related jobs; various additional facts; and internet resources, including an activity guide on buoyancy. An audience-appropriate seek-and-find activity completes the book.

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