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THE CROCODILE BIRD

Name: THE CROCODILE BIRD
Author: Richard Turner
ISBN: 978-1-76036-104-4

by Richard Turner ; illustrated by Margaret Tolland ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2020

An unusual partnership in the natural world that should appeal to young animal lovers.

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If you think a bird and a crocodile can’t get along, think again.

Meet the Egyptian plover—the “crocodile bird”—who shares a home along the River Nile with the mighty croc. Creatures that drink from the river flee the fearsome reptile in terror, but not so the plover. Not only does this bird fearlessly stand up to its scaly neighbor; it actually stands in it—inside its mouth, that is. The plover performs a service with a twofold purpose: The bird picks out juicy food bits lodged between the crocodile’s razor-sharp teeth—remainders of its previous meals. This helps the mighty beast avoid tooth decay while the bird ekes out a tasty meal from the morsels. Numerous spreads featuring dramatic close-ups of the crocodile’s gaping, toothy jaws and the gray, white, and black avian dental hygienist unflinchingly doing its work will fascinate young readers as they learn about an unfamiliar creature and a remarkable symbiotic relationship. The informative text is rendered via jaunty four-line rhyming verses that generally read and scan well. The illustrations’ palette is limited to shades of browns, grays, greens, and black and white, focusing on the crocodile and its helpful companion. The zebras, elephant, and wildebeests depicted in the opening spread suggest the African setting but aren’t actually found in Egypt.

An unusual partnership in the natural world that should appeal to young animal lovers. (Informational picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-76036-104-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Starfish Bay

Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
APE WITH A CAPE
by Richard Turner ; illustrated by Deborah Sheehy

- BOOK REVIEW
WHOSE NOSE DO YOU SUPPOSE?
by Richard Turner ; illustrated by Margaret Tolland

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WILDLIFE WINTER GAMES
by Richard Turner ; illustrated by Ben Clifford

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HELLO WINTER!

by Shelley Rotner ; photographed by Shelley Rotner ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 16, 2018

A solid addition to Rotner’s seasonal series. Bring on summer.

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Rotner follows up her celebrations of spring and autumn with this look at all things winter.

Beginning with the signs that winter is coming—bare trees, shorter days, colder temperatures—Rotner eases readers into the season. People light fires and sing songs on the solstice, trees and plants stop growing, and shadows grow long. Ice starts to form on bodies of water and windows. When the snow flies, the fun begins—bundle up and then build forts, make snowballs and snowmen (with eyebrows!), sled, ski (nordic is pictured), skate, snowshoe, snowboard, drink hot chocolate. Animals adapt to the cold as well. “Birds grow more feathers” (there’s nothing about fluffing and air insulation) and mammals, more hair. They have to search for food, and Rotner discusses how many make or find shelter, slow down, hibernate, or go underground or underwater to stay warm. One page talks about celebrating holidays with lights and decorations. The photos show a lit menorah, an outdoor deciduous tree covered in huge Christmas bulbs, a girl next to a Chinese dragon head, a boy with lit luminarias, and some fireworks. The final spread shows signs of the season’s shift to spring. Rotner’s photos, as always, are a big draw. The children are a marvelous mix of cultures and races, and all show their clear delight with winter.

A solid addition to Rotner’s seasonal series. Bring on summer. (Informational picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-8234-3976-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Holiday House

Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
FINDING HOME
by Gwen Agna & Shelley Rotner ; photographed by Shelley Rotner

- BOOK REVIEW
EVERY BODY
by Shelley Rotner ; illustrated by Shelley Rotner

- BOOK REVIEW
TRUE YOU
by Gwen Agna & Shelley Rotner ; photographed by Shelley Rotner

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A PLACE FOR RAIN

by Michelle Schaub ; illustrated by Blanca Gómez ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 12, 2024

Enticing and eco-friendly.

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Why and how to make a rain garden.

Having watched through their classroom window as a “rooftop-rushing, gutter-gushing” downpour sloppily flooded their streets and playground, several racially diverse young children follow their tan-skinned teacher outside to lay out a shallow drainage ditch beneath their school’s downspout, which leads to a patch of ground, where they plant flowers (“native ones with tough, thick roots,” Schaub specifies) to absorb the “mucky runoff” and, in time, draw butterflies and other wildlife. The author follows up her lilting rhyme with more detailed explanations of a rain garden’s function and construction, including a chart to help determine how deep to make the rain garden and a properly cautionary note about locating a site’s buried utility lines before starting to dig; she concludes with a set of leads to online information sources. Gómez goes more for visual appeal than realism. In her scenes, a group of smiling, round-headed, very small children in rain gear industriously lay large stones along a winding border with little apparent effort; nevertheless, her images of the little ones planting generic flowers that are tall and lush just a page turn later do make the outdoorsy project look like fun.

Enticing and eco-friendly. (Picture book. 5-7)