JUST YOU AND ME

Nature’s symbiotic relationships are outlined in a poetic text featuring some unlikely animal and plant partnerships.

As an introduction, an adult and child (the former White, the latter with olive skin and black hair) plant a garden together. “Just you and me. / Just me and you. / We’re perfect pairs! / Here’s what we do….” An explanation of the term symbiosis is then provided, which leads into the various natural collaborations presented. Interestingly, the majority of the natural partnerships are those casual readers might consider improbable on the face of it. A Nile crocodile hosts an Egyptian plover (also known as the crocodile bird) in its mouth to help clean its teeth of food scraps, which become the bird’s meal. Zebras and ostriches herd together and rely on one another’s senses to warn of danger. More-well-known and perhaps obvious duos are included, such as the bee helping the flower spread its pollen or a sloth relying on the green algae that grows on its back to camouflage itself against predators within the greenery of the trees. Each team is allotted a double-page spread and introduced with a rhyming verse: “I wear your green among the trees. / You hide me well so no one sees / a hanging sloth that moves quite slow, / as predators lurk far below.” This is followed by a detailed explanation in a smaller font: “Algae make their home on sloth fur, turning it green in the process.” The crisp, unambiguous artwork reinforces the learning and understanding of these incredible partnerships that thrive in the natural world. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A fascinating view of interdependency.