Paired with a book about beaks, this is sure to start many youngsters on the road to becoming avid bird-watchers.
Children learn the many ways birds use their feet to find or catch food.
Angus presents seven birds that represent the diversity of feet found in the bird kingdom. Clever formatting gives readers the opportunity to guess each bird before a turn of the page reveals it in its habitat. “If you had long slender legs and toes, you could… // Wade like a heron to sneak up on a school of fish.” The first double-page spread shows a close-up of long yellow legs against the blue backdrop of a pond. The second pulls back to show the entire bird, an orange fish (reminiscent of a Goldfish cracker) in its long beak. Swans, a roadrunner, a woodpecker, cardinals, towhees, and an owl round out the cast. Backmatter provides additional facts about the species and a “Fun Foot Fact” for each; a section about adaptations that includes a chart of birds along with their habitats, feet, and beaks; a few activity ideas; bird-watching tips; and a resource list. Angus’ paper-collage illustrations are vibrantly colored and employ variously patterned and textured papers to highlight the birds, their habitats, and/or the other animals around them (each of the seven is pictured with a predator in the background). Marbled water, downy swan chicks, tree bark—all are vivid and arresting.
Paired with a book about beaks, this is sure to start many youngsters on the road to becoming avid bird-watchers. (Informational picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-58469-613-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dawn Publications
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
A good choice for a late fall storytime.
Animal behaviors change as they prepare to face the winter.
Migrate, hibernate, or tolerate. With smooth rhymes and jaunty illustrations, Salas and Gévry introduce three strategies animals use for coping with winter cold. The author’s long experience in imparting information to young readers is evident in her selection of familiar animals and in her presentation. Spread by spread she introduces her examples, preparing in fall and surviving in winter. She describes two types of migration: Hummingbirds and monarchs fly, and blue whales travel to the warmth of the south; earthworms burrow deeper into the earth. Without using technical words, she introduces four forms of hibernation—chipmunks nap and snack; bears mainly sleep; Northern wood frogs become an “icy pop,” frozen until spring; and normally solitary garter snakes snuggle together in huge masses. Those who can tolerate the winter still change behavior. Mice store food and travel in tunnels under the snow; moose grow a warmer kind of fur; the red fox dives into the snow to catch small mammals (like those mice); and humans put on warm clothes and play. The animals in the soft pastel illustrations are recognizable, more cuddly than realistic, and quite appealing; their habitats are stylized. The humans represent varied ethnicities. Each page includes two levels of text, and there’s further information in the extensive backmatter. Pair with Joyce Sidman and Rick Allen’s Winter Bees (2014).
A good choice for a late fall storytime. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5415-2900-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
A $16.99 Mother’s Day card for cat lovers.
The team of Costain and Lovšin (Daddies are Awesome, 2016) gives moms their due.
Rhyming verses tell of all the ways moms are amazing: “Mommies are magic. / They kiss away troubles… // …find gold in the sunlight / and rainbows in bubbles.” Moms are joyful—the best playmates. They are also fearless and will protect and soothe if you are scared. Clever moms know just what to do when you’re sad, sporty moms run and leap and climb, while tender moms cuddle. “My mommy’s so special. / I tell her each day… // … just how much I love her / in every way!” Whereas dads were illustrated with playful pups and grown-up dogs in the previous book, moms are shown as cats with their kittens in myriad colors, sizes, and breeds. Lovšin’s cats look as though they are smiling at each other in their fun, though several spreads are distractingly cut in half by the gutter. However delightful the presentation—the verse rolls fairly smoothly, and the cats are pretty cute—the overall effect is akin to a cream puff’s: very sweet and insubstantial.
A $16.99 Mother’s Day card for cat lovers. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62779-651-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
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