by Melissa Stewart; illus. by Stephanie Laberis
Peachtree Publishers, 2018
Everyone loves elephants. They’re so big and strong. Everyone respects cheetahs. They’re so fast and fierce.
But this book isn’t about those guys. It’s about animals that people tend to overlook. The tiny animals. The slo-o-o-ow ones. The stinky critters we’d rather not get too close to.
What I like about this book: The language is fun: “puny peewees”! Lively verbs like skedaddle and skitter. I like that some of the animals featured are clumsy – like the west
ern fence lizard that sometimes falls off a tree branch. The animals too tiny to capture for supper. And that characteristics we might think of as weaknesses are actually adaptations for survival.
I also like the illustrations – the animals retain their factual appearances but Stephanie Laberis endows them with expressive faces. And there’s back matter – a spread with more information about each animal.
Head over to Archimedes Notebook where you’ll find another stinky book review and some beyond the book activities.
It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
Copyright © 2018 Sue Heavenrich All Rights Reserved.
This book was nominated for a Cybils in the elementary/middle grade nonfiction category. It sounds like fun. I can’t wait to read it.