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ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: Mysteries of the Universe
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.lelanargi.com/
CITY: Brooklyn
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 242
Married with one daughter; http://timeoutnewyorkkids.com/staying-in/81821/review-the-honeybee-man http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-03-31/local/29381850_1_bee-stings-apiarist-hive
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1967; married; children: one daughter.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author, journalist, and editor.
AWARDS:Cook Prize Honor Book selection, and Best Book selection, both Bank Street College of Education, both 2012, both for The Honeybee Man.
WRITINGS
Contributor to anthology Women Who Eat: A New Generation on the Glory of Food, edited by Leslie Miller, Seal Press, 2003. Contributor to periodicals and websites, including Ask, Descant, Gastronomica, Highlights, MSN Kids, Muse, Natural Bridge, Odyssey, PittMed, Storyworks, Science News for Students, and Washington Post.
SIDELIGHTS
[open new]Lela Nargi is a longtime journalist with a penchant for writing about domestic arts for adults and about science topics ranging from dinosaurs and volcanoes to the wonders of outer space for children. As a journalist for national magazines, she has written about such topics as parenting, celebrities, and photography. After starting her book career producing a number of cookbooks and knitting compendiums, she shifted to focus on writing for children with the publication of the award-winning picture book The Honeybee Man.
With the unlikely setting of Brooklyn, New York, The Honeybee Man details the joy that an elderly man named Fred gets in tending the three hives on his roof, the hundreds of bees being a part of his family as much as his dog and cat. The story follows his daily routine, the local journeys the bees are imagined to make, and the resulting honey—sometimes with notes of blueberry—shared with neighbors, of course. The back matter includes an informative afterword and helpful diagrams.
Horn Book reviewer Joanna Rudge Long appreciated the “accurately detailed text” and called The Honeybee Man “an engaging introduction to a fascinating activity.” A Publishers Weekly reviewer admired how “copious details are carefully woven into descriptions of Fred’s day-to-day activities.” The reviewer concluded, “Kids should find this easygoing blend of fiction and fact fascinating.” A Kirkus Reviews writer similarly affirmed that Nargi’s “descriptive language is filled with smell and sound and sight” and celebrated the book as “eccentric and unusual with an appealing, gentle charm.”
Nargi wrote a pair of books about exploding mountains and terrible lizards by teaming up with National Geographic explorers. Steve Brusatte is the expert who enlivens Absolute Expert: Dinosaurs, which is filled with stories, information, and facts about when the dinosaurs roamed the earth, what they ate, how they lived, and why they died out. Also detailed are how fossils are used to reconstruct the past, with a map showing where different fossils have been found around the globe.
Karl’s New Beak tells the sad but ultimately heartwarming story of a bird with a broken beak. An Abyssinian ground hornbill at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, Karl was unable to eat enough because of a broken bottom beak. Hoping to get him well enough to breed, zookeepers used fossils for molding, took painstaking measurements, and used a 3-D printer to create a prosthetic beak and change Karl’s life. In telling his story, Nargi gives background information about the hornbill’s native environment and the various uses of its beak. A Kirkus Reviews writer appreciated the “unusually helpful definitions” and deemed Karl’s New Beak “for fans of animal-rescue accounts and 21st-century technology.”
One of Nargi’s contributions to the “Solving Space’s Mysteries” series is Mysteries of the Universe. She discusses what scientists know about the size of the universe, its constant expansion, and its enormous age. In discussing how scientists have learned what they know, she highlights the abundance of details about the universe that remain unknown. In Booklist, Sarah Hunter admired the “conversational, up-to-date text” and how Mysteries of the Universe offers not just “concrete facts” but also “thought-provoking questions.”[close new]
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, May 15, 2003, Michelle Kaske, review of Knitting Lessons: Tales from the Knitting Path, p. 1630; May 15, 2005, Mark Knoblauch, review of Around the Table: Women on Food, Cooking, Nourishment, Love … and the Mothers Who Dished It Up for Them, p. 1625; March 15, 2011, Hazel Rochman, review of The Honeybee Man, p. 63; October 1, 2020, Sarah Hunter, review of Mysteries of the Universe, p. 51.
Horn Book, March-April, 2011, Joanna Rudge Long, review of The Honeybee Man, p. 105.
Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2011, review of The Honeybee Man; January 1, 2019, review of Karl’s New Beak: 3-D Printing Builds a Bird a Better Life.
Library Journal, June 1, 2005, Andrea R. Dietze, review of Around the Table, p. 164.
New York Times Book Review, May 4, 2003, Penelope Green, review of Tales from the Knitting Path, p. ST13.
Publishers Weekly, January 31, 2011, review of The Honeybee Man, p. 49.
School Library Journal, March, 2011, Kathy Piehl, review of The Honeybee Man, p. 130.
ONLINE
Lela Nargi website, http://www.lelanargi.com (April 28, 2021).
Lela Nargi is a veteran journalist and author living in Brooklyn, NY. Her first picture book, The Honeybee Man (Schwartz and Wade, 2011, illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker), was a Junior Library Guild Selection, A Kirkus starred review, a NSTA "Outstanding Book", a Bank Street "Best Book of the Year", a 2012 Cook Prize Honoree, a Cornell University/Spoons Across America Agricultural Literacy 2013 & 2015 read-aloud pick, and a First Book. A Heart Just Like My Mother’s, (illustrated by Valeria Cís), was released by Kar-Ben/Lerner in January 2018, with its central, essential, themes of compassion and kindness.
Karl's New Beak (Capstone 2019, illustrated by Harriet Popham) follows an Abyssinian ground hornbill in the Smithsonian's National Zoo as his keepers work to 3D-print him a prosthesis for his broken lower beak. It's a California Reading Association Eureka honoree, an NSTA/CBC best STEM book of 2020; it also made Betsy Bird’s 2019 School Library Journal list of best science and nature books, and The Nonfiction Detective’s 2019 roundup, too.
Lela is also the author of three non-fiction middle grade books: Above & Beyond, about the history and future of flight; and Absolute Expert: Dinosaurs and Absolute Expert: Volcanoes, both published by National Geographic in August 2018. Her three-part Mysteries of Space series for Capstone, covering The Universe, Planets, Stars & Galaxies, and Constellations, will publish in 2020.
As a journalist, Lela writes extensively for adults about a variety of topics—food and agriculture, science—for a wide variety of national outlets; she writers about science for kids, in publications such as Ask, Highlights, MSN Kids, Muse, Odyssey, PittMed, Scholastic’s Storyworks, Science News for Students, and the Washington Post Kid's Post.
I’m an author, editor, and veteran journalist living in a leafy corner of Brooklyn, NY with my daughter, my husband, and two skeptical bunnies. After years spent reporting on news, celebrities, parenting, and photography for large national magazines, I now write about food and food policy, science, the environment, and social justice issues for a wide variety of outlets. I also write books — mostly about science, and mostly for children.
Nargi, Lela KARL'S NEW BEAK Capstone Editions (Children's Informational) $17.95 3, 1 ISBN: 978-1-68446-026-7
Using a 3-D printer, zoo employees construct a prosthesis for an injured bird.
At the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., staff members are concerned with the feeding difficulties of Karl, an Abyssinian ground hornbill living in the cheetah exhibit. Hoping to restore his ability to eat normally so they can breed him, they come up with a solution for his broken bottom beak. They mend it using a pattern from a museum skeleton and 3-D printing technology. A number of recent titles for young readers describe the work of humans to make lives better for injured or abandoned animals. Unusually, here the special focus is on the process: the complicated and painstaking repair of Karl's lower beak, including the construction of its replacement part. Thoughtful design makes this very clear: Illustrations cleverly combine actual photographs with drawings and diagrams, printed in blue and white like blueprints. Readers see Karl in his enclosure, before-and-after close-ups, and the veterinarian, exhibits specialist, and exhibit curator (all white-presenting) who work together to restore the beak. There are also photos of the printing process as well as sanding and gluing the new bill. The straightforward text introduces the bird, explains how hornbills use their beaks in the wild, and follows the process step by step. Backmatter includes more facts about hornbills in the wild and about Karl in particular as well as a glossary with unusually helpful definitions.
For fans of animal-rescue accounts and 21st-century technology. (Informational picture book. 5-9)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
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"Nargi, Lela: KARL'S NEW BEAK." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Jan. 2019. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A567651648/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=c02742de. Accessed 28 Jan. 2021.
Mysteries of the Universe. By Lela Nargi. 2020. 32p. illus. Capstone, lib. ed., $29.32 (97814966808081. Gr. 3-6. 523.1.
The fields of astrophysics and cosmology are dense with challenging, abstract theories, but this entry in the Solving Space's Mysteries series (6 titles) takes a useful approach when distilling a few of them for a middlegrade audience. The author focuses on some of the biggest theories, such as the age of the universe, its size and shape, and the fact that it's expanding, but she regularly emphasizes that there's much we still don't know. The conversational, up-to-date text pairs nicely with starry photos, as well as a few illustrations (some a touch hokey) to help visualize concepts. Though readers will certainly take away some concrete facts, they'll be equally well served by the thought-provoking questions raised not only about what we know about the universe but also how we come to know it.--Sarah Hunter
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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Hunter, Sarah. "Mysteries of the Universe." Booklist, vol. 117, no. 3, 1 Oct. 2020, p. 51. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A638516228/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=8c065aa6. Accessed 28 Jan. 2021.
"Dinosaurs" is the latest exciting title from the Absolute Expert series from National Geographic. Written for readers age 8-10 and up, "Dinosaurs" is introduced and partially narrated by Steve Brusatte, national Geographic explorer. Four illustration-and-fact-packed chapters cover the Superstars of the Mesozoic Era, Here Come the Dinosaurs, the Lives of the Dinosaurs, and After the Dinosaurs. Every chapter has a fascinating Explorer Introduction, main chapter body of information, and a hands on finishing chapter called Dig In which offers fun matching game quizzes reviewing the important parts of the chapter. Fascinating color illustrations portray many different dinosaurs in each chapter, supplemented by multiple timelines in sidebars. Color photos of dinosaur skeletons and fossils abound as well. Interesting curious facts are presented in small orange rectangles, such as, "Dinosaurs were probably mesothermic like sharks." Multiple global sites for fossil and dinosaur digs are referenced, shown, and discussed. In the closing chapter, fascinating findings about the Chicxulub asteroid's impact, thought to have caused the disappearance of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago, are presented. In addition, a color coded global map showing evidence of dinosaurs found all over the world is highlighted on pages 100-101. For young dino experts, a pronunciation guide and references for further dinosaur reading are provided. "Dinosaurs" is a fabulous learning opportunity for elementary and middle school readers which makes learning effortless. Further titles in the Absolute Expert series that are also highly recommended include: "Volcanoes (9781426331428, $14.99)," by Lela Nargi with explorer Arianna Soldati, "Dolphins (9781426330100, $14.99)," by Jennifer Swanson with explorer Justine Jackson-Ricketts, and "Soccer (9781426330087, $14.99)," by Eric Zweig with professional referee Mark Geiger.
Steve Brusatte, national Geographic explorer
Lela Nargi, author
National Geographic
1145 17th Street N.W., Washington, D. C. 20036
9781426331404, $14.99, 112pp, www.natgeokids.com
Please Note: Illustration(s) are not available due to copyright restrictions.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/cbw/index.htm
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Brusatte, Steve. "Absolute Expert Dinosaurs." Children's Bookwatch, Aug. 2018. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A554042311/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=bf11fc22. Accessed 28 Jan. 2021.
The Honeybee Man
by Lela Nargi; illus. by Kyrsten Brooker
Primary Schwartz & Wade/Random 40 pp.
3/11 978-0-375-84980-0 $17.99
Library ed. 978-0-375-95695-9 $20.99 (g)
In the tradition of Lois Lenski's long-ago Mr. Small, Fred--a contented bachelor--models beekeeping in New York City's Brooklyn, a setting that adds interest to this typically rural activity. Bees constitute Fred's "enormous family"; his hives are on his roof, and even among the city's buildings they find enough of particular plants to impart the flavor of, say, blueberries. Fred's busy daily round, beginning with a cozy cup of tea and greetings for his anxiouslooking dog and insouciant cat, makes an appealing frame for the main event: tending his "tiny city" of three hives. Fred imagines the bees' flight to nearby backyards, affectionately welcomes them home, and harvests enough honey to share with neighbors whose gardens the bees may have visited. Brooker enhances the book's fictive side with interestingly skewed perspectives, textured details in collage, and a cheerfully upbeat characterization of Fred himself. The accurately detailed text is nicely supplemented by clear endpaper diagrams of bees, flowers, and hives. The Honeybee Man isn't really a story, but it's an engaging introduction to a fascinating activity. A note extends the information.
(g) indicates that the book was read in galley or page proof. The publisher's price is the suggested retail price and does not indicate a possible discount to libraries. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2011 The Horn Book, Inc.. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.hbook.com/magazine/default.asp
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Long, Joanna Rudge. "The Honeybee Man." The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 87, no. 2, Mar.-Apr. 2011, p. 105. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A249684519/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=27a7f630. Accessed 28 Jan. 2021.