A fascinating, easy-to-understand primer for anyone curious about horses.
The history and habits of equines.
Horses, as we know them today, first appeared as a genus called Eohippus 52 million years ago, the size of a dog and sporting three toes in addition to hooves. A two-page spread displays how this little creature evolved into the majestic horses we know; great care goes into showing not only how the ancestors of horses looked, but also their leg bone structure within picture balloons. This latest in the series blends expert research with beautiful illustrations, allowing readers to absorb a vast amount of information in just 48 pages. Biology professor York explains not only how horses, zebras, donkeys, and other members of the family spend their days, but how they communicate and survive against drought, predators, and even each other. Like others in the series, this one offers a “day in the life” of various animals, presenting a different vignette for each hour of the day: a foal being born and walking within hours in the English countryside, a fight between mustangs on the Nevada plains. Explanations of the purposes of horsetails (nature’s fly swatters) and stripes on a zebra (to confuse predators) are just a few of the factoids found here, written in easy-to-understand prose. Prabhat’s illustrations effectively create a sense of place and action and differentiate the wide range of species. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A fascinating, easy-to-understand primer for anyone curious about horses. (glossary, index) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-68449-250-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Neon Squid/Macmillan
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
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
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
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