HOW RUDE!

A raucously entertaining exploration of gauche behaviors from the animal kingdom.

Stiefel combines humor with scientific insight to showcase creatures whose survival strategies—among them the howler monkey’s screech and the camel’s habit of spitting—happen to align with behaviors human parents generally try to discourage. The book’s smart design breaks down information into easily digestible sections; readers can dive into specific chapters such as “Gas Passers” or “Barfers” without reading cover to cover, making the work perfect for repeat browsing. Each animal profile features helpful text boxes with key details like size, range, habitat, and conservation status, allowing readers to quickly grasp essential facts. Oliver’s colorful, cartoon-style illustrations complement the irreverent tone while accurately depicting each animal’s distinctive features. The engaging, language-rich content reveals genuinely interesting information; for example, Pacific herring communicate through “Fast Repetitive Tics, or FRTs,” and animals such as mice, rabbits, and guinea pigs “feast on their own feces (or dine on their own dung, or gorge on their own guano…).” The book’s greatest strength lies in its interviews with scientists, including biochemist Antonio Cerullo and shark scientist Yakira Herskowitz. These conversations don’t just explain animal behaviors—they reveal the diverse career paths in animal science while demonstrating how scientists think and work. Connections to human behavior feel natural and help readers understand that many “rude” biological functions serve important purposes across species.

A winning combination of gross-out appeal and scientific information that will have kids giggling and learning.