GET THE SCOOP ON ANIMAL PUKE

The prominent cover image of a bulldog with a pool of puke at its feet will cause kids with a gag reflex to retch, while those into the gross will chortle with glee.

Unfortunately even the latter category will find this, a companion to Get the Scoop on Animal Poop (2012), to be an unsatisfactory stew. The table of contents seems to indicate a careful assemblage of digestible facts including “Toxic Puke Defense,” “Indigestible Puke,” “Baby Pukers” and so on. However, some comments seem incomplete or misleading, starting with one in the introduction: “You may think of puking as a bad thing: it makes your stomach hurt and smells gross. In the animal world, though, vomiting helps animals in many ways.” This seems to suggest that there is a difference between humans and animals and that humans do not benefit from vomiting, yet the reasons we do are covered in a later chapter. “Puke Defense” states that some animals defend themselves and their young with vomit. Cool, but inquisitive readers will not find a definite explanation: Do they spew on predators as a weapon or on themselves to become unsavory? “Cud Pukers” introduces the concept of a four-chamber stomach, yet the role of the second chamber is not covered, nor are chambers labeled on the diagram.

Some children will dig in, but most will leave it unfinished.