NATURE'S RULE BREAKERS

Broad labels don’t always work.

Scientists use categories like herbivore or cold-blooded to sort animals, but this intriguing title makes the point that our binary classifications can be too rigid. Science educator Fries-Gaither discusses 22 animals that don’t fit neatly into the standard groups, instead falling somewhere in between. The Eurasian eagle-owl, for example, is neither nocturnal nor diurnal but crepuscular, meaning it is active at dawn or dusk. In winter, wood frogs may seem dead, with no heartbeat, but in spring they thaw and come alive. She also describes animals that move between fresh and saltwater, those that can be both male and female, and those that have both lungs and gills (or neither). Short paragraphs of text are set on or alongside colorful, close-up stock photographs. The author emphasizes her point: “Our categories don’t fit them.” Readers who’ve been saddled with unwanted labels may appreciate the lesson here. “Standing OUT is IN their nature.” (The design incorporates changing text cases and colors for emphasis.) Fries-Gaither concludes by explaining the utility of categories for general scientific purposes and introducing other examples, including plants and extinct animals. Not your ordinary display of interesting and appealing animals, this offering has an important message for young readers and the adults who care for them.

For in-betweeners everywhere.