An informative, gentle, awestruck look at a mysterious big cat.
Following the trail of a beautiful, elusive animal.
Narrating in the first person, Anderson leads readers on a trek through the Himalayas to seek out the snow leopard, which villagers call the “gray ghost.” The journey turns suspenseful as the slopes become steeper and more icily treacherous. The narrator describes his feelings of awe upon first encountering tracks in the snow. Then, to his utter astonishment, he actually sees the magnificent creature. Readers will also marvel as she stares out from the page. Thanks to the author’s proximity to this leopard, readers also get to witness her unsuccessful hunt for ibex and her reunion, further along the trail, with her young cub; a charming spread shows mother and offspring snuggled together. The main narrative, jam-packed with interesting facts about the leopard, is expressed in a clear, conversational manner and presented in large type; text in a smaller faux hand-lettered type provides additional information. Benson’s endearing watercolor illustrations capture the leopard’s furry, pale, gold-and-gray coat, with the black rosettes that offer excellent camouflage in her mountainous habitat. (They depict the author as white as he moves through the Ladakh village with his local guide.) The narrator marvels at his luck to see two snow leopards; readers will feel fortunate to have followed along.
An informative, gentle, awestruck look at a mysterious big cat. (author’s note, index, websites) (Informational picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0540-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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