A simple but effective appreciation.
The activities of a young brown bat over his first summer on his own serve as introduction to the most widespread bat species in the U.S.
Pringle weaves information about the lives of these misunderstood mammals into his imagined-from-facts tale of “Otis,” named for his species, Myotis lucifugus. As always, this veteran science writer mostly avoids anthropomorphization, describing actions with lively language that’s fun to read aloud: “Otis zigs and zags, flutters and dives, hovers and swoops, dips and swerves….He is finding, chasing, catching, and eating insects.” To begin, there’s a flashback to the bat’s puphood, nursing from his mother. The story proceeds with a night of hunting and a detailed explanation of how Otis catches insects in flight. He meets prey whose ability to hear ultrasound clicks helps them escape and a predator, an owl, that he avoids. After the summer feeding, Otis flies far to join others in a cave, mate (mentioned, not described), and hibernate until spring. The conclusion of this simple story demonstrates the importance of these bats to our lives: When they return in the spring, “Lots of mosquitoes and other insects will be in big trouble!” Appropriate vocabulary introduces relevant concepts. The species-threatening white-nose syndrome is described in an afterword for adult readers. Garchinsky’s darkly atmospheric illustrations, created with pastels and aqua crayons on textured paper, will show well at storytime.
A simple but effective appreciation. (author’s note, glossary) (Informational picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62979-601-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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BOOK REVIEW
A good choice for a late fall storytime.
Animal behaviors change as they prepare to face the winter.
Migrate, hibernate, or tolerate. With smooth rhymes and jaunty illustrations, Salas and Gévry introduce three strategies animals use for coping with winter cold. The author’s long experience in imparting information to young readers is evident in her selection of familiar animals and in her presentation. Spread by spread she introduces her examples, preparing in fall and surviving in winter. She describes two types of migration: Hummingbirds and monarchs fly, and blue whales travel to the warmth of the south; earthworms burrow deeper into the earth. Without using technical words, she introduces four forms of hibernation—chipmunks nap and snack; bears mainly sleep; Northern wood frogs become an “icy pop,” frozen until spring; and normally solitary garter snakes snuggle together in huge masses. Those who can tolerate the winter still change behavior. Mice store food and travel in tunnels under the snow; moose grow a warmer kind of fur; the red fox dives into the snow to catch small mammals (like those mice); and humans put on warm clothes and play. The animals in the soft pastel illustrations are recognizable, more cuddly than realistic, and quite appealing; their habitats are stylized. The humans represent varied ethnicities. Each page includes two levels of text, and there’s further information in the extensive backmatter. Pair with Joyce Sidman and Rick Allen’s Winter Bees (2014).
A good choice for a late fall storytime. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5415-2900-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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