A fun gift or reference book for the newer horse enthusiast.
Horse facts, basic and obscure, fill this oversized illustrated book.
Following Why Do Cats Meow? and Why Do Dogs Sniff Butts? (both 2020), this latest volume in a series on animals turns to horses of all kinds. Each spread focuses on one question, such as “How long have there been horses?”; “Why do horses wear shoes?”; and “Can a horse speak with its ears?” Short paragraphs responding with answers are spaced throughout each spread, around painted illustrations of horses against white backgrounds, in action scenes, or in portrait frames. Readers will learn the names of horses’ colors, the names of older and younger members of a herd, the relationships between humans and horses, the jobs horses do, which breeds are strongest, which are most easily trained, and, of course, why horses can’t burp, among other things. While the title implies that the book will be filled with quirky, unusual facts, most of the information is fairly basic—enlightening for beginner horse enthusiasts but less so for those who have already been delving into equine affairs. The writing style is plain, and bolded headings make browsing easy. The delicate watercolor illustrations are realistic enough to be informative but also playful in places, depicting horses with eyebrows to exaggerate their emotions in one spread, for instance. A number of famous horses from history are featured as well. Humans are pictured in a variety of skin tones.
A fun gift or reference book for the newer horse enthusiast. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 5-9)Pub Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-500-65230-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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
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
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