For Mother’s Day or any day, an appealing take on animal factoids.
Mothers in the animal kingdom have surprising superpowers.
This lively riff on superheroes, the first in a projected new series of science books, explores the mothering habits of 18 different animal species. These animal supermoms have been loosely grouped into categories. Some, like groundhogs, make good homes for their offspring. Others, like alligators and wolf spiders, carry them in surprising ways. Some, like the giant Pacific octopus, are superprotective. And animals like river otters and bottlenose dolphins teach their little ones important skills. Each species is introduced in a panel or series of panels, with cartoon illustrations of the family in its habitat and a line of text describing the mother’s behavior. (“A giraffe mom kicks to protect her calf.”) Speech bubbles carry imagined commentary, mostly from the youngsters. (“Take that!” says an impressed giraffe calf as Mom fends off some predatory hyenas.) A final spread identifies each mother by name and superpower (“super determined” penguin, “super sneaky” piping plover, “super caring” orangutan). Using speech bubbles again, each mother describes where she lives and what she eats and offers a surprising fact. For youngsters who like learning about the animal kingdom, this work offers a pleasing variety. A page of backmatter provides extensive options—books, videos, and websites—for further exploration, and the authors promise further resources in their own websites. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
For Mother’s Day or any day, an appealing take on animal factoids. (Informational picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1797-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
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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