The Remarkable Things That Creatures Do (Amazing Animals)

Hancock and Ruurs use subjects like reproduction, migration, navigation, hunting, and defense to organize the diverse subjects in their introduction to animal behavior. A discussion on home building features the North American beaver, "an architect and engineer," while a section about diet includes profiles of the giant tortoise (which devours the unpopular prickly pear cactus) and the coconut crab, with its coconut-cracking pincers. Though only a few lines are devoted to each animal, the detailed paintings and surprising details should captivate readers for whom an ideal Saturday would be spent touring a natural history museum. Ages 6-9. (Mar.)

Copyright 2011 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Gr 4-6--An attractive compendium of critter facts, accompanied by some small, stellar acrylic paintings. Covering such topics as "Size and Strength" and "Diet," snippets of text inform readers that an octopus "has a toothed tongue to drill holes in stuff" and "fig wasps have a symbiotic relationship with gif trees." What readers are not told is that there are many kinds of birds of paradise besides the one pictured, each with its own courting behaviors, and that not all female fireflies are femme fatales luring unsuspecting males to entree status on the menu. This book has great eye appeal for young browsers, and the olio of factoids may prompt further investigations by curious kids.--Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

PRAISE FOR AMAZING ANIMALS
..".beautifully rendered acrylic paintings.... It is an eclectic collection ... it's a good fit for those young nonfiction readers who enjoy absorbing bizarre facts."
—Booklist

..".the detailed paintings and surprising details should captivate readers for whom an ideal Saturday would be spent touring a natural history museum."
—Publishers Weekly

"An attractive compendium of critter facts, accompanied by...stellar acrylic paintings.... This book has great eye appeal for young browsers, and the olio of factoids may prompt further investigations by curious kids."
—School Library Journal

PRAISE FOR IN MY BACKYARD
..". A necessary library purchase, this is also sure to find a home on budding artists' and young naturalists' bookshelves."
- Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews

PRAISE FOR WHEN WE GO CAMPING
"A dreamy, poetic text and rich, detailed paintings celebrates the pure wilderness...."
- School Library Journal

PRAISE FOR WILD BABIES
"Exceptionally lifelike wildlife paintings will draw young nature lovers to this attractive book... [A] high-quality book well worth purchasing."
- Booklist