WHO NEEDS THAT NOSE?

The creators of If I Had a Tail (2001) move to the other end of six creatures, pairing close-ups and clues in a guessing game for young readers: “Who needs a nose that swings and sways, a long gray nose that works like a hand to pick up bunches of hay?” As the animals include a bat, a star-nosed mole, and a proboscis monkey, the answers aren’t always obvious the first time around—which will make repeat reading all the more satisfying. Neidigh contributes realistic, clearly detailed near views, then pulls back on alternate spreads for a full-body portrait of each animal in a natural setting. Warrick properly wraps up the riddles with a child’s nose, then adds a spread of explanatory notes. A pleaser for fans of Beatrice Schenk de Regniers’s It Does Not Say Meow (1972) or Hana Machotka’s Breathtaking Noses (1992). (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-7)