Droll glimpses of nature being cooperative in tooth and claw.
Give a rousing cheer for animals that help one another out.
In the same exuberant vein as their salutes to “super” animal moms and dads, Lang and Harper pay tribute to natural friends, families, and communities that work as “supersquads,” including meerkat and chickadee lookouts, fungi-cultivating ants on “Team Leaf-Cutter,” snow monkeys grooming each other, and even interspecies mutual-protection partnerships like those between keen-eyed ostriches and zebras gifted with acute senses of hearing and smell. Succinct explanations of how each collective task or relationship functions accompany Harper’s lively cartoon views of creatures in animated poses, some uttering jokes and wisecracks aimed over the heads of younger audiences. “You should be dancing!” warbles a honeybee Travolta, striking a disco pose. “I’ll have what she’s having,” comments an envious snow monkey. But a diminutive cleaner shrimp finishing up a “Turbo Treatment” on a moray eel’s sharp teeth makes the overall theme explicit for all: “Teamwork makes the dream work.” The authors prompt young readers to identify and organize their own supersquads to join the animal “teams” marching past at the finale.
Droll glimpses of nature being cooperative in tooth and claw. (more information on the species mentioned, resources) (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781536217988
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
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
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