A welcome and unusual spotlight on the sounds of the natural world.
What are you hearing out there?
Lunde, a naturalist who translates his scientific expertise into appealing introductions for the very young, follows up Whose Egg Is That? (2023) with another delightful nature-themed guessing game. On each spread, the author poses the title question, describes the noise (“RAP TAP TAP! RAP TAP TAP TAP!”), and offers a clue (“It’s a loud hammering on a tree”). The next page reveals the answer and provides more facts about the animal. This inspired approach invites listener participation. The simple text and bold illustrations make this an ideal choice for a group read-aloud. While Lunde mostly uses generic names (dolphin, elephant), at times he’s more specific (quacking frog, rattlesnake). Chen’s lively animation-style illustrations add information: The creature's environs and neighbors are shown on the first spread, while the animal making the sound is on the second. Careful readers will usually be able to spot a hint of the animal on the first spread; indeed, these images bear close observation. Readers can see the grubs that the woodpecker is seeking, and a close-up of African bees reveals the thorns on the acacia tree nearby. The final puzzle makes for a fun surprise. Humans who appear briefly are diverse.
A welcome and unusual spotlight on the sounds of the natural world. (more facts on animal sounds) (Informational picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2025
ISBN: 9781623546267
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on.
Sharpson offers so-fish-ticated readers a heads up about the true terror of the seas.
The title says it all. Our unseen narrator is just fine with other animals: mammals. Reptiles. Even birds. But fish? Don’t trust them! First off, the rules always seem to change with fish. Some live in fresh water; some reside in salt water. Some have gills, while others have lungs. You can never see what they’re up to, since they hang out underwater, and they’re always eating those poor, innocent crabs. Soon, the narrator introduces readers to Jeff, a vacant-eyed yellow fish—but don’t be fooled! Jeff’s “the craftiest fish of all.” All fish are, apparently, hellbent on world domination, the narrator warns. “DON’T TRUST FISH!” Finally, at the tail end, we get a sly glimpse of our unreliable narrator. Readers needn’t be ichthyologists to appreciate Sharpson’s meticulous comic timing. (“Ships always sink at sea. They never sink on land. Isn’t that strange?”) His delightful text, filled to the brim with jokes that read aloud brilliantly, pairs perfectly with Santat’s art, which shifts between extreme realism and goofy hilarity. He also fills the book with his own clever gags (such as an image of Gilligan’s Island’s S.S. Minnow going down and a bottle of sauce labeled “Surly Chik’n Srir’racha’r”).
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 8, 2025
ISBN: 9780593616673
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
A boon for beaver storytimes or young naturalists living near beaver streams.
Readers learn about a keystone species and the habitat they create.
In a “House That Jack Built” style (though minus the cumulative repetition), Sonenshine introduces children to beavers. Beginning with a beaver who’s just gnawed down a willow near their lodge, the author moves on to the dam that blocks the stream and protects their domed home and then to the yearlings that are working to repair it with sticks and mud. Muskrats and a musk turtle take advantage of the safety of the beavers’ lodge, while Coyote tries (and fails) to breach it. Then the book turns to other animals that enjoy the benefits of the pond the beavers have created: goose, ducklings, heron, moose. While the beavers aren’t in all these illustrations, evidence of them is. And then suddenly a flood takes out both the dam and the beavers’ lodge. So, the beavers move upstream to find a new spot to dam and build again, coming full circle back to the beginning of the book. Hunter’s ink-and–colored pencil illustrations have a scratchy style that is well suited to the beavers’ pelts, their watery surroundings, and the other animals that share their habitat. Careful observers will be well rewarded by the tiny details. Beavers are mostly nocturnal, which isn’t always faithfully depicted by Hunter. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A boon for beaver storytimes or young naturalists living near beaver streams. (beaver facts, glossary, further resources) (Informational picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1868-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
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