A fascinating story that strikes just the right tone of education and fun.
A dog trained to sniff out poop? How? (Or, perhaps more to the point, why?)
The first clue that this book will be fun as well as informational is the 3-D look of the brown typeface used for the title word Pooper. Sampson, a black Lab mix, has been trained by his scientist owner (co-author Ubigau) to sniff out the poop (scat) of other animals, for which he’s rewarded with a bit of ball play. One of the animals is the Pacific pocket mouse, thought to be extinct until its scat was discovered in 1993. Now on the endangered species list, the tiny mouse is clever at hiding, and collecting its poop (a great deal can be learned from poop) is a way for scientists to learn more about the species without resorting to traps—a win for both the species and science. Another win is that most pooper snooper dogs are rescues from shelters; their high-energy, ball-obsessive temperament—which can make them tough as family pets—makes them perfect for this job. An admirable amount of information is presented here: how a dog is trained to sniff out poop, the role of the Pacific pocket mouse in its environment, a Q&A with Sampson’s scientist owner, and a fun nose game readers can teach their own dogs. The copious full-color illustrations faithfully illustrate the narrative, visually bringing the story to life and depicting Ubigau with pale skin and long, blond hair.
A fascinating story that strikes just the right tone of education and fun. (Informational picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64351-823-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Arbordale Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.
This book is buzzing with trivia.
Follow a swarm of bees as they leave a beekeeper’s apiary in search of a new home. As the scout bees traverse the fields, readers are provided with a potpourri of facts and statements about bees. The information is scattered—much like the scout bees—and as a result, both the nominal plot and informational content are tissue-thin. There are some interesting facts throughout the book, but many pieces of trivia are too, well trivial, to prove useful. For example, as the bees travel, readers learn that “onion flowers are round and fluffy” and “fennel is a plant that is used in cooking.” Other facts are oversimplified and as a result are not accurate. For example, monofloral honey is defined as “made by bees who visit just one kind of flower” with no acknowledgment of the fact that bees may range widely, and swarm activity is described as a springtime event, when it can also occur in summer and early fall. The information in the book, such as species identification and measurement units, is directed toward British readers. The flat, thin-lined artwork does little to enhance the story, but an “I spy” game challenging readers to find a specific bee throughout is amusing.
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere. (Informational picture book. 8-10)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-500-65265-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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