Engaging in concept and format but graceless in delivery.
Animal trivia in a question-and-answer format.
Just as in Are You Stronger Than an Ant? (2024), Morgan peppers readers with intriguing questions: “Could you…climb up and down cliffs without any gear at all?” “Could you…ward off bad guys without a shield?” “Could you…light up the dark by giving off an inner glow?” Kids will likely respond with a resounding no, but the author goes on to describe creatures who do possess these abilities; she notes, for instance, that “a mountain goat’s hooves make steep climbing easy.” Text in a smaller font goes into more depth about each animal’s ability, while the accompanying image depicts a child attempting the feat (in this case, a youngster clings uncertainly to the side of a cliff as a bemused mountain goat looks on). Nine of the examples relate to animals. The inclusion of an oak tree whose limbs “make a home…for oodles and oodles of others” will be a surprise. At times, the writing is awkward. The last words of each question and answer rhyme; some words seem to have been chosen for the sake of rhyme, not meaning. Morgan introduces the sea star (referred to here as a starfish) by asking if readers could “go through life without a brain”; the answer and subsequent explanation don’t discuss its lack of a brain. A final list of facts summarizes the information. The children are diverse; one uses a wheelchair.
Engaging in concept and format but graceless in delivery. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: yesterday
ISBN: 9798890630629
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clavis
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
Another playful imagination-stretcher.
Markle invites children to picture themselves living in the homes of 11 wild animals.
As in previous entries in the series, McWilliam’s illustrations of a diverse cast of young people fancifully imitating wild creatures are paired with close-up photos of each animal in a like natural setting. The left side of one spread includes a photo of a black bear nestling in a cozy winter den, while the right side features an image of a human one cuddled up with a bear. On another spread, opposite a photo of honeybees tending to newly hatched offspring, a human “larva” lounges at ease in a honeycomb cell, game controller in hand, as insect attendants dish up goodies. A child with an eye patch reclines on an orb weaver spider’s web, while another wearing a head scarf constructs a castle in a subterranean chamber with help from mound-building termites. Markle adds simple remarks about each type of den, nest, or burrow and basic facts about its typical residents, then closes with a reassuring reminder to readers that they don’t have to live as animals do, because they will “always live where people live.” A select gallery of traditional homes, from igloo and yurt to mudhif, follows a final view of the young cast waving from a variety of differently styled windows.
Another playful imagination-stretcher. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781339049052
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A gleeful game for budding naturalists.
Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.
In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781728271170
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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