About the Author

Geoff Waring has worked as a graphic designer and is the author-illustrator of BLACK MEETS WHITE. He says that the Oscar books are based on his own cat, Oskar. He lives in London.

Reviews

K-Gr 2-Oscar, an inquisitive young cat, has all kinds of questions about the world around him, but he gets his information from rather unlikely sources. In the first book, Frog explains how tadpoles grow into frogs, and that many creatures lay eggs to produce their young. Then he moves on to plants and the production of seeds. Finally, there are creatures like Oscar, he explains, who come from their mothers. Next, a moth tells him how the Earth spins, creating day and night. She explains how light is warm, that days are always warmer than nights. She explains why stars are only visible at night and how some animals, like fireflies, make their own light. Then she tells him how shadows are made. Waring offers up a lot of information in these books, and each one includes a summary of the concepts on the last spread. The illustrations, done in a cartoon style, were digitally created and colored in flat tones. These starter books might send children off in search of more detailed information. Adequate, but nothing special.-Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MI Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

Geoff Waring's curious kitty Oscar is back in two new Start with Science titles. In Oscar and the Frog: A Book About Growing, Frog teaches Oscar all about the changes that plants and animals go through as they get older and bigger. Oscar and the Moth: A Book About Light and Dark introduces Oscar (and readers) to the concepts of night and day, shadow, bioluminescent animals and more. (Candlewick, $11.99 each 32p ages 4-up ISBN 9780-7636-3558-9; -3559-6; Nov.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.