A de-tail-ed look at an important adaptation across species.
A fascinating up-close look at the many uses animals have for their tails.
Frogs and toads start out with tails that help them swim but lose them as they grow and move to living on land. Deer use their tails as flags to warn others of danger. Beavers do this as well, plus they use their wide tails to steer, store fat, and balance. Everyone knows that a skunk’s lifted tail is a sign of imminent trouble, and the prehensile tails of opossums help them grasp tree branches. When it’s cold, a fox uses its bushy tail as a blanket. Muskrats and birds use their tails as rudders to help them steer, one through water, the other through the sky. And porcupines and bees use their tails for defense. Holland’s photos are a highlight, filling three-quarters of each page and sometimes including inset pictures—of the skunk’s rear with tail raised and of the beaver in midslap. Readers can see individual hairs and feathers and will want to curl up with the adorable fox. But two photographed animals have no accompanying text: the red squirrel on the cover and the snake in the opening spread. The “For Creative Minds” section in the back invites readers to match animals to their tails and describes the tail adaptations of flying squirrels, salamanders, fireflies, bats, and otters. A Spanish-language edition, Las colas de los animales, publishes simultaneously.
A de-tail-ed look at an important adaptation across species. (Informational picture book 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62855-976-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Arbordale Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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
PERSPECTIVES
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
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