Do not hide this book!
Martin highlights the lives and disguises of one dozen animals hailing from habitats from every continent but Antarctica, with camouflaged-animal searches.
Captivating watercolor art immediately draws readers in. Before the title page, a blue-and-green map of Earth’s continents appears, superimposed with 12 circles; each circle contains a portrait of one of the upcoming subjects. Also preceding the title page, the author notes the importance of humans’ protecting habitat in order to save animals, “even when we can’t always see them!” Two double-page spreads are devoted to each animal, starting with chameleons. The first spread for each animal uses an ideal amount of negative space to set off short, titled paragraphs and art that perfectly complements the text. For example, “Sticky Situation” gives fascinating facts about a chameleon’s tongue as one whips across the top of the paragraph. The second double-page spread for each animal offers fun that will entice even 3-year-olds. A small amount of text lets readers know how many of the featured animal are hiding in each lushly painted environment—from eight mimic octopuses to 17 owl butterflies—as well as the names of other animals hidden there. The conversational text clearly defines words such as metamorphosis and opisthoglyphous (having fangs at the back of the upper jaw). Both art and text enhance scientific accuracy with beauty and playfulness—a rare feat. Sturdy pages, too.
Do not hide this book! (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1405-5
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Candlewick Studio
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on.
Sharpson offers so-fish-ticated readers a heads up about the true terror of the seas.
The title says it all. Our unseen narrator is just fine with other animals: mammals. Reptiles. Even birds. But fish? Don’t trust them! First off, the rules always seem to change with fish. Some live in fresh water; some reside in salt water. Some have gills, while others have lungs. You can never see what they’re up to, since they hang out underwater, and they’re always eating those poor, innocent crabs. Soon, the narrator introduces readers to Jeff, a vacant-eyed yellow fish—but don’t be fooled! Jeff’s “the craftiest fish of all.” All fish are, apparently, hellbent on world domination, the narrator warns. “DON’T TRUST FISH!” Finally, at the tail end, we get a sly glimpse of our unreliable narrator. Readers needn’t be ichthyologists to appreciate Sharpson’s meticulous comic timing. (“Ships always sink at sea. They never sink on land. Isn’t that strange?”) His delightful text, filled to the brim with jokes that read aloud brilliantly, pairs perfectly with Santat’s art, which shifts between extreme realism and goofy hilarity. He also fills the book with his own clever gags (such as an image of Gilligan’s Island’s S.S. Minnow going down and a bottle of sauce labeled “Surly Chik’n Srir’racha’r”).
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 8, 2025
ISBN: 9780593616673
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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
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