A pleaser for animal and nature lovers.
Poetic observations about the wildlife of the far north and south.
The confident metrics and wordplay that mark Elliott’s previous sets of wildlife-themed poems is on bright display here as he cheers on 15 creatures from the Antarctic krill and colossal squid to the Arctic narwhal (“A singular creature / with a singular feature”) and polar bear: “On the ice / or in the sea. / We would not / love the world / so much / without / your lonely / majesty.” Not just the bear but all the figures in Rooney’s accompanying digital and patterned-paper collage portraits pose majestically in icy natural settings, sometimes singly, sometimes in family groups or swirling schools. Except for the tardigrade, which gets a playful depiction as a sort of balloon creation, the animals are rendered with reasonably anatomical exactness. In comments at the end, the author expands on references in the verses—offering nature notes for each wild creature while marveling, for instance, that the function of the narwhal’s unique tusk remains unknown and clarifying a line about the orca being “a master of predation / from / the kingdom of the dead” by explaining that the name is derived from Orcus, a Roman god of the underworld. Respect and appreciation for the natural world shine brightly throughout this seamless mix of words and pictures.
A pleaser for animal and nature lovers. (Picture book/poetry. 6-9)Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9781536205992
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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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