Review by Booklist Review
Emberley uses the example of a mother far away from her young son, texting him to tell him she loves and misses him, to illustrate how a text message works. The narrative explanation, accompanied by pencil drawings digitally colored in pastel hues, clearly illustrates how the process works in an understandable way, even if readers don't comprehend all the technological mechanics behind it. Full-page spreads describe how the boy receives his mother's text and how his brain's nerves command his fingers to type her a response. In seconds, the message travels as electromagnetic radio waves into the electromagnetic field, moving through cell towers and then underground, through underwater copper-wire cables on its journey to its recipient. The book also has interesting STEM trivia--for instance, that there are five million cell towers in the world, or that per minute in the U.S. about 16 million text messages are sent. In the illustrations, readers are given a big-picture, bird's-eye view of what's happening above- and belowground simultaneously as Emberley clearly illustrates a technical process in a way that curious readers will find fascinating. Back matter includes an author's note and additional print and website resources.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Horn Book Review
What is going on in our brains, on our phones, and in the world when we send or receive a text message? Emberley's skillfully crafted picture book answers this not-so-simple question in a delightful mix of illustrations, diagrams, and captions with a clear through-line narration that makes the complicated science behind our electronic interactions comprehensible. Readers follow along when a late-night text message awakens a child from their sleep, as a series of physiological events ("cells inside the eyes detect the photons, then translate the photon's message into an electronic signal, which travels through soft threads of hollow nerves...straight into the brain") results in a reply that must travel halfway around the world. Emberley illustrates every step in the process as the message travels through the air ("as a unique, invisible, electromagnetic radio wave"), through wires (both copper and glass), underground, and below the ocean before finding its way to the recipient's -- as we learn, the child's mom's -- screen. Detailed illustrations feature numerous labels, and offset captions further illuminate the scientific and technological explanations, allowing the narrative to focus on the larger actions as the message's digital signal races on. Readers will never again think the same way about the basic act of sending a text message. Back matter provides additional technical details, including an explanation of when and under what conditions satellites become involved in the process. A list of resources for further reading is included. Eric Carpenter November/December 2021 p.128(c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Emberley tracks a loving mom's text message to her child on its secondslong global journey. The narrative begins with receipt by the sleeping child's "two little ears." The message glows on the phone's glass surface, "radiating out as billions of electromagnetic photons." Cells in the eyes detect the photons and translate their message as an electrical signal, which travels through hollow nerve cells filled with salty fluid, "straight to the brain." Italicized science facts augment the narration: Cannily, Emberley analogizes humans' ability to conduct electricity through nerves and salt with machined infrastructure that does so via copper wire. Emberley uses the child's return text to further examine the brain's neural interactivity with the phone, then broadens the overview to unpack the complex, fascinating STEM systems that support modern global communications. Emberley deftly illuminates their basics with clear language, labeled illustrations, and ongoing respect for child readers. Signature, loose-lined pictures often show both under- and aboveground activity. Rabbits scamper in tunnels as kids swing on a playground; underground cabling snakes along, unseen. Details deftly enhance child appeal. Cellphone towers are sometimes disguised as trees to blend in with local landscapes. The locations of undersea cable landings are kept "as secret as possible, to prevent sabotage," and the cables' "protective armor" can withstand a shark bite. Child and mother both have pale skin and straight, dark hair. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Fascinating in scope, admirable for clarity: a winner. (author's note, information resources) (Informational picture book. 6-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
