THE ANIMAL TOOLKIT

When we think about animals using tools, we often think of apes or crows…but what about crabs, wasps, and other unlikely creatures?

In this delightful book, young readers will learn all about how different animals use tools to create rhythmic sounds (the palm cockatoo taps a stick against a tree limb in courtship rituals), floss their teeth (chimpanzees, macaques, and other apes and monkeys rely on plant fibers, hair, and sticks), defend themselves (the boxer crab uses sea anemones like boxing gloves), or set elaborate traps (the corolla spider arranges quartz stones outside its burrow to detect the presence of prey). Jenkins defines tool as “an object that an animal manipulates and uses to affect its environment, another animal, or itself.” Each page features bright collage illustrations of the different animals set against a black background that lets the images pop. The detailed visuals also depict the animals in action, with insets of the tools. Brief text gives the name of each animal and explains how the tool is used and why. For curious readers, backmatter offers more information about each animal as well as a bibliography. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Brimming with insights into the animal world.