Kirkus Reviews QR Code
STRIPES OF ALL TYPES by Susan Stockdale

STRIPES OF ALL TYPES

by Susan Stockdale ; illustrated by Susan Stockdale

Pub Date: April 1st, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-56145-695-6
Publisher: Peachtree

Stockdale’s feast for the eyes explores the stripes found in the animal world.

In rhyming verse often separated by page turns, the author presents readers with the many places stripes can be found: “Propped on a log, / poised on a leaf. // Scaling a ridge, // and scouting a reef.” On each page is a cleanly rendered portrayal of a striped animal found in that habitat: a frog, a butterfly, a skunk and some tropical fish. Sharp lines and beautiful patterns are what readers will notice about Stockdale’s acrylic artwork. The animals are not named within the text, allowing this to be a great guessing game, though the youngest ones may not sit still long enough to learn about the animals in the backmatter. And while the creatures are a nifty mix of the common and less well-known—zebra, skunk, bees, tapir, okapi, bongo—most readers can simply name the type of animal and be satisfied; they need not know the specific names of the tropical fish, though they are provided. The final two spreads present readers with thumbnails of the animals and a few sentences of information about each, as well as a challenge: Match the 19 different stripe patterns to their animals from the text (answers are provided).

A lovely, interactive exploration of stripes and a good introduction to some new animals.

(Informational picture book. 2-6)