Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature (review)

Sidman turns her poetic talent to an introductory treatment of one of nature's favorite shapes, the spiral. Spare, simple text, with a few words on each page, talks about the virtue of the spiral shape ("It fits neatly in small spaces . . . it is graceful and strong") while the illustrations demonstrate various instances of spirals in nature. While the details of the shape's benefits are mostly celebratory rather than informative, there's more explanation in the end matter, and this is a thoughtful way to tickle youngsters into searching for this pattern in nature. The art of Beth Krommes, who worked with Sidman on Butterfly Eyes (BCCB 10/06), is particularly suited to the structural theme. Her scratchboard details have a crisp regularity and geometry that brings the dense illustrations crisp order and balance amid the dark intensity of the black background to the linework, while tasteful text tags identify some of the critters thickly populating the pictured land- and seascapes. Use this with Campbell's Growing Patterns (BCCB 5/10) for an introduction to one of the world's most effective shapes. A closing spread describes different kinds of spirals, drawing on the textual examples.