CHOMP-O-RAMA

In this companion to Snooze-O-Rama (2021), Birmingham and Reed return with a lively comparison of human vs. animal eating habits.

The book begins with a light-skinned child opening a lunchbox as a group of animals peer curiously at the food on display. Birmingham invites readers to “join these hungry beasts and see the wild ways they gobble up grub.” Following the format of the previous book, each spread depicts a youngster in action—in this case, chowing down. A page turn reveals an animal who does something different—or similar. “While you slurp some soup,” the author tells us, “a butterfly gulps turtle tears.” And “while you sometimes use a knife to cut up your dinner,” a sea otter relies on a stone to crack open clams or sea urchins. These animals feed, share, and store their respective foods in intriguing and often surprising ways. The information is clearly presented, and Birmingham draws clever parallels between wildlife and people. Stylized depictions of the animals are presented on brightly colored full-bleed pages, which contrast effectively with the vignettes portraying cartoon kids and adults, set against plain white backgrounds. Birmingham closes with a final spread noting that all beings need to eat and explaining the differences among carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores. Human characters are diverse; one uses a wheelchair.

Appetizing fare for the information-hungry.