Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors by Joyce Sidman

Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors Reviews

• 
  Kathryn

  I knew I was going to like this book when I read the first poem and realized that Joyce Sidman is talented enough to make bacteria sound beautiful and interesting to yours truly (easily grossed-out and squeamish and not exactly scientifically inclined):
  
  Bacteria
  ancient, tiny
  teeming, mixing, melding
  strands curled like ghostly hands
  winking, waving, waking
  first, miraculous
  Life
  
  I was hooked! The book presents a poem and then a paragraph of factual information about various species that have been the "survivors" of our planet. In her Author's Note, Sidman remarks: "When you consider that 99 percent of all species that have ever existed are now extinct, you realize that the ones who made it--and are thriving--are indeed remarkable. This book is a sampling of such successes, arranged in the order of their appearance in evolutionary time."
  
  From bacteria to lichen to sharks and squirrels, on up to humans, I learned a lot! Some things I rather wish I hadn't ("Some scientists estimate that the total weight of all ants on the planet equals the total weight of all humans." EEEW!) But, truly, it's all fascinating and eye-opening--I had no idea squirrels have been around for 36 million years and that diatoms are so beautiful. Even little fun-facts like dandelions are named for their jagged "lion's tooh"-like leaves, not the puffy "mane" that I'd always imagined. The accompanying illustrations, while perhaps not my favorite style in a regular storybook, fit wonderfully here. Be sure to read the Illustrator's Note so you can fully appreciate the illustration on the endpapers.
  
  I would have read this book much sooner if I knew how awesome it is, how much I'd enjoy it--and realized that Sidman is the author of
  Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors which I read last year and loved. Poetry is so hit and miss for me, but I am definitely going to look for more from Sidman's pen and recommend this to anyone who enjoys poetry and/or science.
• 
  Lisa Vegan

  Stellar presentation via poetry, prose, and illustrations, of animal and plant survivors, those who arose from between 3.8 billion years ago (bacteria) to 100,000 years ago (humans). What it does, it does exceedingly well, I think.
  
  Each species of life, shown from oldest to most recently developed in evolutionary terms, is covered via a poem, text giving scientific facts about it, and an illustration or illustrations.
  
  The poems are of all types and are a perfect complement to the straight prose and pictures.
  
  Bacteria, mollusks, lichens, sharks, beetles, diatoms, geckos, ants, grasses, squirrels, crows, dandelions, coyotes, and humans all get space here. Many of these species I’d run the other way from in real life, but in this book they seem fascinating and admirable given their status as survivors. The author’s note at the end informs the reader that over 99% of all species who’ve ever lived are now extinct, and points out that the survivors are all remarkable.
  
  I appreciate how science, nature, poetry, art are combined here to provide information. If kids are interested in any of the above, even if they’re not normally interested in nature/evolution/science, this book might hook them in. For kids who are nature and science buffs, having some poetry included seems to make the subject matter more well rounded.
  
  Some of the poems are great and they’re all worthy additions. The illustrations are interesting and informative. I particularly enjoyed the inside front/back cover illustration that shows the progress from newly formed earth to earth today, with all the life forms shown in the book also shown in the picture. Bacteria sure is hardy and the poem makes it seem almost appealing, not quite but worthy of awe at least.
  
  There is a glossary that is useful and extremely interesting author’s and illustrator’s notes that really add to the book.
  
  I’d recommend this for older elementary school students. The vocabulary and subject matter is probably best suited to fourth and fifth grade students. Younger kids who are interested in nature might enjoy reading this too, but if this is their first book about this topic they are likely to need some help reading it.
  
  4-1/2 stars
• 
  Abigail

  As author Joyce Sidman notes in her afterword, 99% of all species known to have existed have gone extinct, making those who survive truly extraordinary. This delightful picture-book is a celebration of those survivors, and presents a poem about each of the fourteen forms of life being profiled on one page, with a factual, non-fiction paragraph on the facing page. The accompanying artwork by Beckie Prange, who also collaborated with Sidman on
  Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems, captures the beauty of each species or group being depicted.
  
  Both informative and entertaining, Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors is a decided triumph! I enjoyed the poems themselves, particularly The Lichen We, which offers a lichenous reinterpretation of Siegfried Sassoon's "Man and Dog," and Gecko On the Wall. The concrete poem Rubber Mallet (I think this was its name) was well-nigh impossible to read, and therefore somewhat less enjoyable. Still, the majority of the poems were top-notch, the factual information was fascinating, and the illustrations were appealing. Recommended to budding young poetry readers, and would-be naturalists.
• 
  Betsy

  I believe that there are different muses of children's literature. You have you Beautiful Spine muses, your Great Editor muses, your Awe-Inspiring Marketing muses, and your Copyediting Magnificence muses. Each one of these references those elements of the production of a book that authors and illustrators cannot wholly control. In terms of picture books, however, the greatest muse of all these, the big mama muse on high, would have to be the Serendipity Muse. This is the muse that pairs great authors with great illustrators to produce books of unparalleled beauty. And as I see it, poet Joyce Sidman and artist Beckie Prange must have independent alters dedicated to this muse tucked in a back corner of their gardening sheds or something. How else to explain their slam bang pairing? Besides a clever editor, of course. I mean first we saw them working together on
  Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems, which immediately went on to win a highly coveted Caldecott Honor. Now this year we get to see their newest collaboration Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors. Much like Water Boatman this new pairing combines factual information with poems and pictures, but its focus is entirely different. And, of course, it's an equal pleasure to both ears and eyes. The muse knows her stuff.
  
  "Ubiquitous (yoo-bik-wi-tuhs): Something that is (or seems to be) everywhere at the same time." Imagine having to select those denizens of earth that at one time or another were or are ubiquitous. The species that have managed to stay in existence long after most have gone extinct. It can't be easy but poet Joyce Sidman has her ways. In a series of fourteen poems she examines everything from the earliest bacteria on the globe to the very dandelions beneath our feet. Each subject gets a poem about its life and existence, and then Ms. Sidman provides accompanying non-fiction information about the subject. So in the case of coyotes, the poem "Come with Us!" is told in the voice of the coyotes themselves, urging others to "Come drink in the hot odors, / come parry and mark and pounce." On the opposite page we then learn the Latin term for coyotes, how long they've been on this earth, their size, and any other pertinent information about them. Beckie Prange's linocuts and hand-colored watercolors perfectly offset both the grandeur and the humor of Sidman's work. A Glossary of terms can be found in the back.
  
  Sidman's poems could easily have all been the same format. They could have all had the same ABAB or AABB structure. Instead, they mix things up a bit. Here we can see concrete poems and poems that follow ABAB with AABB. And some, like the squirrel poem "Tail Tale" (which is my favorite in the book) don't even rhyme. This constant change keeps readers interested. Then you start to get into the meat of the poems themselves. Sidman has to be factually accurate while also highlighting the thing about the organism or insect or fish or animal that she finds most interesting. That way her poem's allusions can be more fully discussed in the accompanying non-fiction matter. That aforementioned squirrel poem, for example, manages to capture the essential cockiness of your average tree rodent. Near the end it reads, "hmmmm bigger brains versus tree- / top living with a free fur coat / and the ability to crack any / safe known to man now / really which would / you choose if you / actually had a/ choice which / you don't?" Compare that to a previous and lovely poem about the diatoms of the sea. "Curl of sea- / green wave / alive / with invisible jewels / almost / too beautiful / to eat: / in each / crash, roar, / millions / more." Evocative. Switching gears comes naturally to Ms. Sidman.
  
  Let's also talk structure. I'm a children's librarian and as such I have certain practical concerns. Now this book, insofar as I can tell, was produced without a dust jacket. That is to say, the cover of the book doesn't have anything protecting it. That means that libraries (like my own) aren't going to feel obligated to paste down the bookflaps of the nonexistent jacket and this is a good thing because when you first open the book an image there immediately grabs your eye and requires you to see every last tiny detail. Humans, you see, have a hard time with the concept of time. Children in particular. For a kid, the months between Halloween and Thanksgiving can feel like an eternity. For an adult, they're just a blink of the eye. So how do you go about conveying to a child the notion of how old the Earth is? Well, you do what Prange has done here. You set up a scale where "1 centimeter equals 1 million years", and then fill your pages with kooky crazy meanderings of a line, back and forth, up and down, inside and outside, around and about. Always assuming your kid understands the concept of a million (Steven Kellogg
  can help them out if they don't) these endpapers have the potential to blow your young `uns minds. Particularly when you see where Bacteria begins versus pretty much everything else.
  
  Prange pairs her pictures together pretty well too. You can see on the endpapers a rollicking red ball that was the early Earth on the one end of the spectrum, and a cool green and blue ball on the other. This is mimicked in the text itself. On the title page is a hot red "Earth, newly formed, 4.6 billion years ago." Flip to the end of the book and there's the Earth again, once more on the left-hand page, opposite the Glossary of terms, now blue and green. It's not something you'd necessarily catch on a first reading, but I like that Prange took the time to give this book a definite structure with a distinct beginning and end.
  
  The relationship between the artist and poet interests me. Let's take as our example the poem that accompanies information on Sharks. Now somebody decided to make the poem a concrete poem. That is to say, it's a poem in the shape of a shark. Was it originally intended to even be a concrete poem or was this an inspiration of Ms. Prange? One has to assume that it was Ms. Sidman's idea since the poem fits perfectly with each part of the shark. The "Finfinfinfin" is the fin. The "bristling teeth" creating the mouth. I bet you could argue both ways. Howsoever you look at it, what's clear is that Prange and Sidman had to collaborate to a certain extent on the melding of text and image. So Sidman would write out the different stages of a dung beetle's life and Prange would create eight separate circles of that same cycle. Sidman labels the parts of an anthill's nest and Prange finds a way of drawing "grasshopper parts". It's a true collaboration. There's a back and forth to this book that you don't always feel in collections of poetry.
  
  Of course all this begs the question of whether or not you consider this book to be a work of poetry or a work of non-fiction. Most will place it in their poetry collections, much as they did with Song of the Water Boatman, and I think that's right. Still, it's something to bear in mind when folks ask you to recommend a book with facts about ancient and contemporary life forms that seem to be, for lack of a better term, ubiquitous. It's certainly a beautiful book, and will hopefully appeal to kids who are into facts as well as kids who are into poems. The rare double whammy. Hold on to it.
  
  For ages 6-10.
• 
  L13_Terry

  Poet Joyce Sidman and artist Beckie Prange have created a unique and marvelous book for children aged 5 through 12 in Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors. The ecclectic poems introduce the reader to living organisms ranging from bacteria to ants...to dandelions...to geckos...to coyote...and finally, to human beings. Each living organism is introduced in the form of a poem first: some are free verse; others are riddled with rhyme; while several actually take shape in the form of concrete poems. In addition to the lively poetry, each organism is also described according to its color, size, and time on our planet. 'Ubiquitous' is the perfect blend of creative word choice coupled with intriguing non-fiction text about a diverse array of living things- some of the most interesting our Earth has to offer!
  
  Children and adolescents alike will find value in this book. For some, who have a fascination for insects and the diversity of life on our planet, 'Ubiquitous' might serve as an introduction to some previously unknown species. Older students doing research would likely find useable information in the non-fiction segments of the text. And everyone will have the pleasure of experiencing nature through multiple senses as the unique poetry bombards them in ways not before realized or imagined. Learning about Earth's almost magical biodiversity and the subtle and beautiful nuances of the English language simultaneously promises to be a delight for all who endeavor to experience this book.
  
  Finally, the glossary at the end of the book is a prudent feature, indeed. Likewise, the visual representation of our planet's history on the last two pages is at once stunning and thought-provoking. Compared to the other species highlighted in Joyce Sidman's book, we humans have been around for the least amount of time. Nonetheless, there is no surprise which of the species described is by far the most destructive to the fragile and diverse life on Earth.
• 
  Shane Harcombe

  What a fascinating, unusual book! Part book of poetry, part information book, Ubiquitous takes on a journey looking at different lifeforms, starting with the oldest and finishing with humans. Each lifeform has a different style of poem, a beautiful illustration and a small amount of factual information. An excellent book, I will need to check out their other works.
• 
  Marta Buryan

  Ubiquitous is a rather unusual book, verging on being an informative book on the one hand and a poetry volume on the other.
  
  As far as the informative side of Ubiquitous is concerned, the book contains a very detailed descriptions of the living forms, such as lichens, mollusks or the ants. The descriptions are composed of complex sentences that frequently contain advanced, specific vocabulary, such as "acid rain" or "pollen." While using such specific terms is certainly necessary to provide an exhaustive description of particular living forms, I am not quite sure whether children would fully comprehend such vocabulary. Still, encountering advanced terms while reading might trigger a child to look their meaning up in a dictionary or consult them with parents, which might turn out to be very beneficial for vocabulary expansion.
  
  I am also quite confused when it comes to the poems. On the one hand, they seem not to fit into the informative character of the book. On the other hand, though, they offer a completely different view on the provided information. Thus, the young readers get both an informative and poeticised insight to the lives of different creatures. I think that these contrasting ways of presenting the same issue might help to involve in reading both the scientifically-thinking and the creative, art-favouring kids.
  
  Ubiquitous is a well-designed book. I especially liked the changing perspective - the readers look at the living things from above, from below, from the distance and from very close. In a way, this feels like being an explorer who almost touches the plants he examines but keeps the distance from the wolves he watches.
  
  The illustrations did not seem particularly appealing to me due to their lack of consistency. Some drawings are detailed whereas other seem to be quite plain. I guess I expected more details from the pictures in an informative book. I liked the pictures on the front and end pages, though. The idea of depicting the millions of years of life development on Earth with the help of one twisted line is just amazing.
  
  Overall - I am not in awe but the book is quite fine. It should be read by children who are already able to comprehend its complicated texts or by children who are accompanied by an adult willing to help them to properly understand Ubiquitous.
• 
  Dolly

  This is a wonderful book, a unique combination of poetry, science and art. The illustrations are great and the line drawing of the timeline of evolution on the endpages is very mind boggling. The author's and illustrator's notes at the end were very informative and afterwards we visited the author's website (
  www.joycesidman.com) as recommended.
  
  We read this book slowly, savoring one or two creatures at a time so as to fully appreciate the book. This is definitely one I'd read again, even just for me.
  
  This story was selected as one of the books for the
  June 2013 - Poetry discussion at the
  Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.
• 
  Amy

  Ubiquitous is probably far more than a two star book to the right child. There's a lot going on here. It explores lots of different life forms (plant as well as animal), some of which younger kids may not even be aware of, and the text for each, while interesting, is more advanced. It's probably at a 4th-6th grade reading level. In addition to descriptive text, the pictures of each life form were also accompanied by a poem. This is a nice touch--if the kids you're dealing with like poetry. My niece and nephew are not big poetry fans, so we didn't even bother reading the poems.
  
  My niece and I got about half way through this book before she lost interest in it (she's 8). While I think this is a book that she would be likely to enjoy when she's older, it's just too... *much* for her right now, I think. She and my nephew did appreciate the pictures, however.
• 
  Kiley Ellis

  audience: This book would be best for students in grades 2-5. This book would be a good choice for students that are interested in animals, biology, and the history of animal and plant species.
  
  appeal: This book is full of facts about animals and plants, and how they have adapted and survived since the beginning of time. To accompany the facts this book also contains poems written about the different animals and plants. The books also contains text features that are appealing to students. The illustrations are very life like and represent the books content well. Although students would not have to read the book from front to back, this non-fiction book is written in a way that can be read front to back in a story like manner.
  
  from the School LIbrary Journal award list
• 
  Agnes

  A great marriage of curious scientific detail, poetry pieces, and vivid illustrations. Nature’s survivors are depicted from oldest to youngest - from bacteria to humans. Important environmental concepts are outlined in the descriptive paragraphs addressing evolution, adaptability and other significant details of the species social system such as ants cooperative nature often studied and copied by corporations. The book ends on a somber note talking about humans as “one of the most destructive species on earth.”
• 
  Abby Johnson

  Ubiquitous: Something that is (or seems to be) everywhere at the same time.
  
  What do bacteria, sharks, beetles, and grass have in common? They're organisms that have adapted to be prolific over long periods of time all over the world. They're ubiquitous. In creative poems and beautiful illustrations, Sidman and Prange present these organisms and many more.
  
  This is a really, really neat book!!
• 
  Krista the Krazy Kataloguer

  Loved it! Nice poems, done in various poetic forms, accompanied by factual information, about some of the oldest surviving species on the planet. I especially liked "The Lichen We," modeled after a poem by Siegfried Sassoon, and "Tail Tale," written in the voice of a squirrel. Beautiful book--a possible Caldecott nominee for 2011? Recommended!!
• 
  Wendy

  The poems are great (some of them GREAT), but the scientific paragraphs are nothing special, which I think takes this out of serious Newbery contention. Illustrations are lovely. This has Sibert written all over it.
• 
  jocelyn hanan

  This one will defiantly make it onto my personal shelf. I loved it and it will work perfectly into future lessons of mine.
• 
  Abby doodlepants

  Love the time line on the end pages.
• 
  Seema Rao

  A non-fiction picture book with facts, poetry, and pictures sharing ideas about some of the most ubiquitous species on earth. Lovely endpapers underscore how recently humanity showed up.
• 
  Audrey's Picture Books

  I really enjoyed the description of each life form, as well as the selection of them. You don't often see diatoms mentioned in picture books. On the other hand, the poetry isn't very good.
• 
  Benjamin

  The nonfiction write ups on each species are good and interesting, but the poetry I found to be just meh.
• 
  Angela

  Lovely and informative. And those endpapers!
• 
  bet mercer

  Didn't like it as much as Sidman's "Winter Bees" but it's still interesting
• 
  Cameron Walker

  Another great nonfiction book that provides perfect information on our biological world. It shows many organisms and critters that we live with. It also notes how we evolved, which is a great topic for young kids to begin grasping.
• 
  Shirleynature

  Combining poetry, art & science inspires curiosity to explore our interconnected natural world, including evolutionary biology. Although intended for kids up to age 12, many adults will also appreciate this celebration of deep time. Further reading is highlighted in the back of the book. This ALA Notable book is one of many attractive kids’ books of nature revelry by author Joyce Sidman that I’m curious to investigate soon.
• 
  Kayla Spires

  Am amazing representation of nature and evolution. Sidman informs readers of different lifeforms using complex poetry filled with alliteration and rhythm. The illustrations are what attracted me to this book. They are subtle unsaturated colors with an abundance of detail and texture that make the book that much more interesting. Great for a science lesson or a poetry lesson.
• 
  Betsy

  Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature’s Survivors by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beckie Prange
  
  Kindergarten and up
  
  After reading Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature’s Survivors by Joyce Sidman, you will have a newfound respect for a group of organisms you never knew deserved it. From bacteria to dandelions, Sidman has written a poem accompanied by informational text about organisms which date back millions or billions of years. Sidman provides the scientific name, either the kingdom, phylum, class, or order, of each organism, as well as interesting facts. About bacteria, Sidman writes, “In fact, without bacteria to help them rot, dead plants and animals would cover the world!” Statements like these will keep the reader turning the pages, and poems about sharks, geckos, and coyotes will have the reader re-reading again and again. We learn that there are more ants than any other animal in the world and that crows sometimes roost in flocks of more than a million birds.
  
  Beckie Prange’s colorful illustrations make even the microscopic diatoms of the ocean look beautiful. I was attracted to the slightly raised, textured gecko crawling across the cover with a fly in its mouth. In the Illustrator’s Note, Prange focuses on the timeline on the endpapers which depict when life forms appeared on earth. The timeline is actually a piece of string which changes colors for each geologic period.
  
  Readers of all ages will enjoy the various poems and be captivated by the little-known facts provided by Sidman and the amazing illustrations by Prange. They might remember these two for their collaboration on the Caldecott Honor book Song of the Water Boatman & Other Pond Poems.
  
• 
  Joshua Arvey

  Title: Ubiquitous
  Poet: Joyce Sidman
  Illustrator: Beckie Prange
  Genre: Fantasy
  Themes: Poetry , Picture Book, Nonfiction
  
  Plot Summery: I have found that Ubiquitous is a very interesting poetry book. In this book there are 14 different poems. Each of these 14 poems have their own topic but are all related to living things. Each topic consists of two pages. On the one page there is the poem about the designated topic. On the other side it gives facts about the topic. For example there is a topic about ants. The poem is told throughout the ants tunnels underground and below is different informative facts about ants. In addition to this the illustrations are amazing and really help engage the reader.
  
  Literary Merit: Style: Looking at Ubiquitous the author uses a type of style that would only be appropriate for 3rd grade an above. The style of the writing is appropriate to the subject matter since each page has its own topic. Ubiquitous is a nonfiction poetry book the writing is straightforward. I did find the writing to be more advanced another reason this story would not work well in the younger grades where students could become confused and frustrated with poetry and loss interest.
  
  Reader Response / Classroom Connections: There is a variety of ways that this book could be inter-disciplined with mainly science. For example, we can take any of the poems about vertebrae animals and read it to the class before or after learning about what vertebrae animals are to give more facts about that animal. Then I would encourage students to find their own animal create a poem on one side of the paper and give facts about it on the other.