A fascinating look at animals’ varied ears.
A look at ears joins Holland’s other books on animal eyes, legs, mouths, and tails.
Animals use their ears for all sorts of things. They listen for predators and prey, use them to communicate with one another, listen for their mates, and locate sounds. Like humans, some creatures have external parts to their ears; others are internal or in unexpected places: a katydid’s are on its legs, and a praying mantis has only one, and it’s under its body between its front legs. Bats use their ears for echolocation; beavers’ ears have special flaps that close when they dive underwater; rabbits and cats can rotate their ears separately to listen to sounds from different directions; and frogs’ eardrums are visible on the sides of their heads. Backmatter provides more information about animal ears as well as a complex (and, sadly, unillustrated) explanation of how ears hear. Unusual for books from this publisher, there is only one actual activity: matching four animal pictures to close-ups of their ears. The gorgeous close-up photography that occupies two-thirds of every double-page spread is the big draw, though readers will still wish that some came with arrows pointing out the ears. Children who are paying attention will immediately ask a question after reading or hearing the first sentence, and adult partners will want to be prepared, especially since the answer is a bit complicated: “Most animals have ears”; which do not is the obvious question. Las orejas de los animales, a Spanish-language companion, publishes simultaneously.
A fascinating look at animals’ varied ears. (Nonfiction. 3-7)Pub Date: Feb. 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-60718-447-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Arbordale Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2017
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
Bruce Goldstone’s Awesome Autumn (2012) is still the gold standard.
Rotner follows Hello Spring (2017) with this salute to the fall season.
Name a change seen in northern climes in fall, and Rotner likely covers it here, from plants, trees, and animals to the food we harvest: seeds are spread, the days grow shorter and cooler, the leaves change and fall (and are raked up and jumped in), some animals migrate, and many families celebrate Halloween and Thanksgiving. As in the previous book, the photographs (presented in a variety of sizes and layouts, all clean) are the stars here, displaying both the myriad changes of the season and a multicultural array of children enjoying the outdoors in fall. These are set against white backgrounds that make the reddish-orange print pop. The text itself uses short sentences and some solid vocabulary (though “deep sleep” is used instead of “hibernate”) to teach readers the markers of autumn, though in the quest for simplicity, Rotner sacrifices some truth. In several cases, the addition of just a few words would have made the following oversimplified statements reflect reality: “Birds grow more feathers”; “Cranberries float and turn red.” Also, Rotner includes the statement “Bees store extra honey in their hives” on a page about animals going into deep sleep, implying that honeybees hibernate, which is false.
Bruce Goldstone’s Awesome Autumn (2012) is still the gold standard. (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3869-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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