A chewy treat for young animal lovers.
Six big cats vie for the title of “Most Fatal Feline.”
In jocular tones (“Hey, hey, you know what they say, if called by a panther, don’t anther!”), Spicer Rice profiles a slate of predatory candidates from tigers to jaguars. After describing each one’s general features and distinctive methods of attack, she picks one as the deadliest according to a “Death-O-Meter.” Though she carelessly refers to both cheetahs and snow leopards as the smallest of the big cats, her information is otherwise sketchy but sound, and in a strong running theme, she underscores the ecological importance of these apex predators. She notes that, along with big cats’ roles in culling invasive or diseased animals, they often provide significant sources of food for other creatures with their leftovers. Rightly claiming that humans are “waaaay more dangerous to big cats” than vice versa, she closes with general suggestions for protecting their threatened populations. “We have them! We need them! Let’s love them!” Temescu’s cartoon views of oblivious human victims of diverse hue being stalked and of terrified ones being chased may discomfit some readers, but his scenes of big cats chowing down on (wild animal) prey are free of visible blood or bones.
A chewy treat for young animal lovers. (drawing activity) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781324053736
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Norton Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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
Lighthearted and informative, though the premise may be a bit stretched.
An amiable introduction to our thrifty, sociable, teeming insect cousins.
Bunting notes that all the ants on Earth weigh roughly the same as all the people and observes that ants (like, supposedly, us) love recycling, helping others, and taking “micronaps.” They, too, live in groups, and their “superpower” is an ability to work together to accomplish amazing things. Bunting goes on to describe different sorts of ants within the colony (“Drone. Male. Does no housework. Takes to the sky. Reproduces. Drops dead”), how they communicate using pheromones, and how they get from egg to adult. He concludes that we could learn a lot from them that would help us leave our planet in better shape than it was when we arrived. If he takes a pass on mentioning a few less positive shared traits (such as our tendency to wage war on one another), still, his comparisons do invite young readers to observe the natural world more closely and to reflect on our connections to it. In the simple illustrations, generic black ants look up at viewers with little googly eyes while scurrying about the pages gathering food, keeping nests clean, and carrying outsized burdens.
Lighthearted and informative, though the premise may be a bit stretched. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: March 19, 2024
ISBN: 9780593567784
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
PERSPECTIVES
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