Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors

by Joyce Sidman, Beckie Prange (Illustrator)

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About the

•Joyce Sidman lives in Minnesota, where she battles dandelions with great respect for their survival techniques. joycesidman.com

Beckie Prange lives in Ely, Minnesota, where she spends as much time as possible in the woods looking at lichens, crows, and other hardy northern species. Her first book received a Caldecott Honor. beckieprange.com
Joyce Sidman
Beckie Prange
Mifflin Books for Children
Published


#of

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Science, Nonfiction, Childrens, Animals, Nature

40 pages, Hardcover

First published April 5, 2010

About the author

The Newbery Honor winner Joyce Sidman is today's foremost nature poet for children. Accolades for her books include two Caldecott Honors, a Lee Bennet Hopkins Award, winner of the Claudia Lews Award, and many stars and best of lists. For her award-winning body of work, she won the Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. She lives in Wayzata, Minnesota. Visit www.joycesidman.com

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever been deceived by assuming a book by it’s cover? Literally, Ubiquitous by Joyce Sidman is one of those books. Although seemingly innocent and plain on the outside, on the inside, lies the beauty of nature.....followed by a scientific explanation. From the simplest of organisms to top predators who have survived on our earth for more than 400 million years, Ubiquitous is exactly what it’s name perceives it as. It is everywhere; starting from explaining the first life on earth. Combined with exceptional illustrations that enhance the experience of the world’s survivors, Ubiquitous is deserving of the ultimate accolade, for it is not only the key to our past, but the guide and the story of our present day. I would strongly recommend this book first and foremost to those who are intrigued by the art of poetry and secondly to those who might just be hungering for a piece of scientific knowledge through a pretty simple book.
Something that really struck me about this book is the first poem of the book, on bacteria(5). For although it is short and simple, it is extremely descriptive. It describes the bacteria as having “waking”, and also describes the first life on earth as “miraculous”. The reason that those words and the poem really strike at me is because they tell the hidden beauty of life. This is because in our everyday lives, I don’t know a lot of people who will take the time, and the moment in the day to just stop and celebrate the fact that they are alive. Not to say that there aren’t people like that but they are far and few between.
Something else that struck me is the poem “ The Lichen We”(8). For you really have to comb through the poem before you start to understand that the “Lichen” is actually a combination of Algae and Fungus. This thought provoking poem is “solved” and is also the perfect build up to the scientific definition on the next page, where in the very first sentence it tells you what a Lichen is. Something else that struck me about the poem is how it describes the teamwork between the fungus and algae. Through the words “ What do we share-we two together? A brave indifference to the weather. A slow but steady growing pace. Resemblance to both mud and lace(8).” The last line was particularly at the crux of why it jumped out because it shows that exterior looks don’t matter. This is shown because even though one of the organisms resembles mud and the other lace, both work together to create a successful partnership. Applying this to our lives is not hard for even if one person is dumb, the other smart, one sporty, the other lazy, there will be always a way to solve their differences and be able to work together.
Last but not least, something that really struck me is the poem on Diatoms(12). Although extremely short and easy to understand, it is like an onion. You can always peel back another layer of information each time you read it. One of the meanings that I was able to find out that really struck me was when Sidman says, “too beautiful to eat(12).” What struck me about this is that humans consume gallons and gallons of water each year in the sea but are not conscious of the beauty inside the externally plain sea water. I believe that this is the reason why Sidman is forced to use “Almost too beautiful to eat(12).”, for people are consuming them by the millions every single day.

This book shows us the unseen beauty and strength of organisms in our everyday world that we take for granted and dissects them and therefore I rate it a 4-5 star book. Joyce Sidman could easily be the next Langston Hughes, or the next Shel Silverstein, for her words are intricately woven and flow like the river. In this compilation of poems that are as beautiful as the items they describe, Joyce Sidman has produced another masterpiece.

[Marta Buryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Megan Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book about evolution in the form of poetry. There are loads of information about the formation of the Earth, the Bacteria, and the animals written out in the form of prose. There are beautiful illustrations and very creative ways of displaying the poems in this book. This book is also written in a form of timeline fashion to show what came first in the history of our evolution. Get kids excited about poetry, evolution, and science through this book.

[Christie Kaaland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant new format, poetry, book by Joyce Sidman, this time containing delightful poems - diamante, concrete poems among other formats -- all about various members of the animal and plant kingdom, who have in common that they are survivors. Gorgeously illustrated by Beckie Prange, each double page spread, contains one poem on the left side and a detailed expository paragraph on the right side, describing scientific information about the nature survivor.

[Kai Xavier-Pace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an interesting combination of poetry and science that highlights Earth's life forms. Through different poems, this book brings to life species like bacteria, ants, and coyotes, each accompanied by facts about these species. The illustrations also add to the reading experience of this book because they offer visuals for the poetic language. I liked this book because it was different than a lot of books that I had read previously.

[Ashtin Swann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a mix of poetry, science, and beautiful visuals that had me rethinking just how cool some of Earth’s creatures really are. Sidman writes poems about ancient organisms, from bacteria to beetles, and each one is paired with fascinating nonfiction tidbits. It's a little nerdy, but in the best way. The mix of art and fact makes it feel like a nature documentary in picture book form.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating combination of poetry, brief information presented well and illustration. The front and back covers could even be considered a form of graph. I keep thinking that there must be away to use this and Bayou Song along with, perhaps, the cookbook series to create a meaningful project for students. Now, to dream that up.

[Jocelyn Hanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the time line on the end pages.

[Seema Rao · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely and informative. And those endpapers!

[clivey · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

[Jackie Law · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the cover the best. Great word, ubiquitous (yoo-bik-wi-tuhs): Something that is (or seems to be) everywhere at the same time.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations, lots of information!

[rain rainerson]

"Born a grub, cradled in rot,"