ODD COUPLES

A mind-expanding gallery of seemingly different wild creatures that share similar features or behaviors.

Smiling animals in Latif’s cartoon illustrations pair off on opposite pages to give Birmingham’s surprising question-and-answer revelations a cheery air. What might that jolly-looking great white shark and the small, googly-eyed land snail have in common? Both, it turns out, have mouths jam-packed with teeth that are arranged in rows and move forward as the ones in front wear out. How about kangaroos and three-toed sloths? Both are strong swimmers. What about a polar bear (which “weighs more than two refrigerators”) and a Ussurian tube-nosed bat (closer in weight to a piece of paper)? “They both dig dens in the snow!” If some of the comparisons seem a bit stretched—giraffes and hummingbirds might both make humming sounds, but in different ways and for different reasons—the premise still invites young readers to think a bit outside the box when making comparisons. The ninth and final pairing juxtaposes the koala, which mainly eats eucalyptus leaves, with a quartet of omnivorous, racially diverse children, including a hijabi, a child who uses a wheelchair, and another who uses a cane. Their common trait? Fingerprints!

Will definitely leave an impression on budding naturalists.