• Stinkiest!: 20 Smelly Animals

Stinkiest!: 20 Smelly Animals

Author
Publication Date
May 19, 2018
Genre / Grade Band
Non-fiction /  K − 1st
Stinkiest!: 20 Smelly Animals

Only 2 copies currently available
Description
Caldecott Honor winner Steve Jenkins is back with more Extreme Animals, perfect for young readers looking for accessible nonfiction chock full of incredible art. Stinkiest! will focus on the smelliest members of the animal kingdom.
Publication date
May 20, 2018
Classification
Non-fiction
Page Count
-
ISBN-13
9780544944787
Lexile Measure
870
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Clarion Books
Series
Extreme Animals
BISAC categories
JNF051150 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Science & Nature | Zoology
JNF003000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Animals | General
JNF045000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Readers | Beginner
Library of Congress categories
Animals
Animal defenses
Animal chemical defenses
Adaptation (Biology)

Kirkus

Starred Review

Striking pictures and intriguing facts are paired to entice beginning readers.

Page headings such as “Bird farts” and “Urrp!” and Jenkins’ accurate collage illustrations will draw even reluctant readers in. Information chosen for its “eww” effect will keep them reading despite the challenging vocabulary. Clean, white backgrounds, predictable layout, and varied typefaces help to organize the information. For example, how each critter qualifies as stinky is always discussed in the first paragraph, while callouts explain other behaviors or defense mechanisms. As in earlier series titles, a graphic on each spread indicates scale using either an adult human man or a human hand, while a world map shows habitat. The book concludes with a graphic that shows which critters use smell as a defense or to mark territory and which just live in stinky places. In the similarly formatted Speediest! (published simultaneously), that space is devoted to a chart showing each animal’s speed in miles and kilometers per hour. The aardvark’s 1/10 mph may seem unimpressive until readers see the explanation that this is how fast the animal can dig into earth. The quick movements of the mantis shrimp and the Panamanian termite are compared (quite favorably) to the blink of an eye. Backmatter in each volume includes a one-page glossary and a bibliography of more comprehensive nonfiction published between 1991 and 2015.

Excellent nonfiction that has the potential to make reluctant readers beginning bookworms. Not at all stinky! (Informational early reader. 5-10)

School Library Journal

Gr 1-3--Jenkins offers an informative and lively journey into the world of stinky and speedy animals for primary grade students. Smart layout design in both volumes will make for a seamless reading experience for a variety of learners--fact-filled short paragraphs, maps, size comparison diagrams, and accurate illustrations will please browsers and researchers alike. In Stinkiest!, readers will learn that the honey badger uses a stink bomb if threatened and even birds are in on the smelly action--the hoatzin farts a lot and the female green wood hoopoe can spray a foul oil to deter predators. Speediest! is a solid mix of familiar and unexpected creatures: cheetahs and brown hares but also mantis shrimps and aardvarks. Both volumes are graced with Jenkins's signature torn- and cut-paper collage, which showcase a variety of bold colors and textures. Overall, the two titles have a playful and inviting tone that will be appreciated by kids. However, the majority of the titles cited in each book's bibliography are quite old with most published in the early 2000s but a few in the 1980s and 90s. VERDICT A riveting series for animal lovers and a good choice for science shelves.--Kathia Ibacache, Simi Valley Public Library, CA

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly

In this addition to the Extreme Animals series, author-illustrator Jenkins explores aromatic animals, leading with an irresistible question: "What animal is the smelliest of all?" Omitting strong odors actually serves a purpose for many species on the list, Jenkins explains--notably, as self-defense and to protect territory (predators don't want to be around or eat stinky animals). Mammals on the list include the honey badger, striped skunk, and ring-tailed lemur; bugs, sea creatures, and birds are also contenders: the hoatzin (aka, "stink bird") takes a long time to digest food, resulting in "a lot of smelly gas--bird farts." A purple sea slug called the sea hare, meanwhile, "protects itself by releasing toxic, bad-tasting purple ink." Jenkins supplies additional facts about the animals, making their stinky characteristics just one aspect of their biology; his trademark torn-paper collages offer realistic and distinctive visual texture for each animal subject. Also available: Speediest: 19 Very Fast Animals. Ages 6-9. (May)

Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Steve Jenkins
Steve Jenkins is the award-winning, Caldecott Honor author/illustrator of more than thirty books about the natural world for young readers. A few of his critically acclaimed titles include, Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea; What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?; and Eye to Eye: How Animals See The World.

Robbin Gourley, is the author/illustrator of several children's books. She illustrated First Garden: The White House Garden and How It Grew and both wrote and illustrated Bring Me Some Apples and I'll Make You a Pie: A Story About Edna Lewis.
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Stinkiest!: 20 Smelly Animals
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