Weird Animals
by Mary Kay Carson
32 pages; ages 6 – 10
Sterling Children’s Books, 2019
Slime-oozing slugs, red-lipped fish, spine-covered bugs, and tube-nosed bats. Weird animals are an awesome sight.
OK, I’m going to admit right here that I read this book because of its cover. I mean, look at those fish-lips! If you’re looking for a weird animal, the red-lipped batfish has to be right up there in the top ten.
But… why are its lips so red? Do they help it find a mate? Scare off predators?
What I like about this book: Mary Kay Carson answers these and other questions about why animals have weird adaptations. For example, the Spiny Devil Katydid is covered with thorny-looking spines that make it hard for bats to swallow. The fluffy pink fairy armadillo is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Instead of a tail it’s got a kickstand to prop it up so it can fling dirt while digging.
I like the way the pages are laid out. Three color-coded words in the introductory sentence at the top correspond with color-coded text explaining why those adaptations work for each animal. Plus large photos of the critters. Plus there’s back matter: a glossary of “weird words” and an index. And did I mention the end pages? Large portraits of some of the weirdest in the crew. Totally fun and I learned a lot, too.
Head over to Archimedes Notebook for another book and some beyond the book activities.
It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
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