(1) K-3 Illustrated by Jason Chin. As a ninety-year-old blue whale dies, one story ends and another begins. Her body provides food for other creatures before it gradually descends to the depths of the ocean floor. But it doesn't stop there: her body will sustain life of one kind or another for the next few hundred years. Small marine animals, from fish to crabs to octopuses, pick the skeleton bare before another wave of animals moves in. Eventually, rich nutrients seep into the water, and that water is carried to the surface, where it nourishes krill, the major food source for blue whales. Brunelle's engaging voice strikes the right balance between narration and exposition, while the book design adroitly places her text judiciously across double-page spreads and into sidebar columns. Chin's (The Universe in You, rev. 1/23) always-exquisite watercolors thus dominate the layouts in a variety of double-page spreads, spot illustrations, and thumbnails -- even as supplemental maps, models, and cross-sections effortlessly convey complex visual information. Back matter includes more information about blue whales, marine ecosystems, and the four distinct phases of a whale fall. Recommended resources and a select bibliography are appended as well. Dedicated enthusiasts may also want to seek out Stewart and Dunlavey's Whale Fall (rev. 1/23).

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon. Much like superheroes, some animal species have remarkable abilities. The ten featured species with "superpowers" have notable adaptations that help them to survive. These creatures are indeed impressive, and the book's format enhances the drama: after each animal is introduced, a page-turn reveals the superpower and how it benefits that animal. Examples include Turritopsis jellyfish, which possess "immortality" (they can reset their life cycle in response to injury); mountain-dwelling ibex, which survive by "defying gravity" in their ability to scale sheer cliffs; snapping shrimp, which can produce a bubble that, when popped, resonates at a decibel level that can kill their prey; and dogs, with their "super sniffers" that can help rescue humans and detect dangerous chemicals. Preston-Gannon's colorful illustrations capture the essential details of each species and their environments. The end notes proclaim that "action is your superpower!" and show the impact humans have on each of the featured species.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(2) K-3 From a red cabin in a forest, the young protagonist calls for her dog. "Peppermint! Where is that pesky pup? I'm going out to look for Peppermint! You come too." In the panel-style illustrations that follow, the girl takes readers on a tour of her favorite features of the forest, while the cagey Peppermint comments from a circle inset on each spread. When there are reminiscences (about the time, for instance, when Peppermint came home with a snout full of porcupine quills), the action appears as childlike drawings in the girl's sketchbook (Peppermint: "Maybe not my finest hour"). A mix of the informative and the homey, the narration encompasses elements of history and geology (how millennia earlier, glaciers dropped erratic boulders), botany, zoology (the time a coyote chased them home and they later returned to find its den), and folk wisdom (how to make a whistle out of an acorn cupule), in a visually inviting and intellectually stimulating way. When the naughty Peppermint is at last reunited with her owner, they're rewarded with one of the girl's life-list ambitions: the sight of an elusive fisher regarding them silently from high in a tree. The back matter includes a note from the author about his home and a map showing the Adirondack Mountains, sidebars about porcupines and fishers, and a list of "a few good forest books."

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(3) K-3 “Every creature on Earth has its own special qualities. That is why it is so important we treasure all of them.” The text goes on to describe the unusual characteristics of twenty-two little-known animals and insects, from the limb-regenerating axolotl to the slime-releasing hagfish to the gliding colugo. Each critter gets a spread with vivid full-page illustrations, as well as graphic novel–style drawings, that break down the specifics of each animal’s “curiosity.” Animal aficionados are likely to learn something new about the variety of life on our planet. A “Did You Spot?” section that calls out additional creatures from the illustrations and glossary are appended.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Kerns

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Natasha Donovan. Hocker reminds readers that there is more to nature than a casual glance affords. When a group of child and adult hikers discovers an animal skull, they are prompted to consider what they can deduce from examining it, for this natural relic has a story to tell. "A skull speaks in arches and ridges and caverns of bones. It speaks in teeth and cracks, and holes into, and holes through. It says: I was." Readers turn the page and examine the skull (enlarged from the previous page's illustration), noting the two large openings where eyes once were, eyes that defined this creature as a "watcher." Donovan's full-bleed digital art on the next double-page spread depicts a lynx spotting a rabbit while hunting at twilight. This pattern continues, introducing a deer, a beaver, a hummingbird, a wolf, and an owl: shades of blue outlined in black display each animal's skull, text describes a prominent feature, and the animal is seen in its habitat employing this feature. Extensive back matter utilizes both text and a labeled illustration of a human skull to define features such as orbits, the cranium, and the mandible; additional attributes of the six skulls discussed in the main text; and resources for further inquiry. Once readers catch on to the unusual device of narrators being a succession of animal skulls, the text flows smoothly, and both the facts presented and the plea to appreciate the multiple ways nature speaks to us are clear.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(3) 4-6 It’s fascinating to imagine: an underwater forest of cypress trees, which can grow up to eighty feet tall, submerged for tens of thousands of years, somewhere off the Alabama coast in the Gulf of Mexico, its exact location kept secret for preservation and protection due to the wood’s value. Swanson accompanied a group of scientists who were sanctioned to investigate and attempt to map the site. Her six accessible, engaging chapters touch on the researchers, their discoveries (shipworms!), setbacks (from murky water to COVID-19), technologies, and more. Useful sidebars, plentiful photographs, and QR codes to videos of the forest and scientists are included, as well as activities (e.g., “Grow Your Own Underwater Plants”), a reading list, and glossary, in the back matter.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Philip Bunting. Ben-Barak and Bunting have impressively produced a thought-provoking, scientifically precise, and accessible explanation of the origins of life and evolution across Earth's history for a young audience. Ideas about life, time, and heredity are conveyed through friendly illustrations and simple sentences (albeit with some sophisticated vocabulary). The book opens with questions that children may ask about their human families and histories: "What is life?" "How did I get it?" A deceptively modest reply, its last phrase repeated throughout the book, serves as an organizing concept as the origins of cellular organisms are explained: "Life Is the Way That Some Things Make More Things That Are a Lot Like Themselves but Sometimes a Little Bit Different." In the final pages, a gorgeous gatefold illustration invites readers to spot familiar plants and creatures (including a human) and trace their paths back to the first cell--a "very clever little bubble." If readers pause to let the statements sink in and look closely at the details in the finely crafted illustrations, they'll find clever subtleties that invite further contemplation about what makes "all of us."

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Hall. Berne's (On the Wings of Words, rev. 5/20) history of Earth's oceans and the evolution of marine life is presented as a poem in three parts: the formation of the oceans from Earth's early volcanic and atmospheric activity; the first emergence of life within the oceans; and the diversification of life in the seas to what we see today. The rhyming stanzas are impressive, filled with words and cadences that are entertaining to read aloud, and yet also precise in conveying scientific concepts about geological and biological processes. "So to the ocean came all kinds of life-- / fantastic, surprising, and new. / Step by step, bit by bit, they evolved in the sea. / And life grew, and life changed, and life grew." Hall's (Out of This World, rev. 3/19) mixed-media illustrations balance creative use of color and scientific accuracy: portraying the fiery black and orange landscapes of the young planet, the steamy grays and whites of the emerging ocean waters, and then the beautiful blues of the ocean across millions of years and down hundreds of meters. Extensive back matter includes notes from the author and illustrator on their research, detailed profiles of some of the species featured in the illustrations, additional resources and terminology, and a creative foldout timeline of Earth's history that is linked thematically to the concepts and illustrations in the book.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Diana Sudyka. The partnership of an action-oriented text and vibrant watercolor illustrations creates an enthusiastic introduction to the growth and effects (both positive and negative) of various forms of fungi. Gianferrari explains that fungi spores disperse in various ways: some "puff" with the wind, others "plop" with the rain, and still others spread through "stink and slime": "pee-ew!" Sudyka illustrates each onomatopoeic word with large lettering that graphically reflects the sound. For example, the letters in puff look like cotton balls, those in plop are thin with long vertical lines resembling falling rain, and flies swarming around the grisly black and gray shivery lines of pee-ew are appropriately gross. This complementary pattern of text-telling and illustration-showing continues as Gianferrari discusses how fungi grow: mycorrhizal fungi's delicate filigree threads connect trees to the "wood-wide web," while sometimes fungi "erupt" from rotting wood. A particularly dramatic illustration shows brown and rust and gray artist's bracket fungi covering a decaying stump. This passion for fungal biology is obvious not only in Gianferrari's use of scientific terms and explanations (in small type) throughout but also in the comprehensive back matter: a glossary that expands text definitions, a discussion of how fungi heal and help, some related facts, a diagram of one mushroom's life cycle, sources, recommended reading, and pertinent online resources. Terrific.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(1) K-3 The multitude of species found in and around Australian coral reefs are showcased creatively in this vibrant alphabet book. Lessac (illustrator of We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, rev. 11/18) uses the A, B, and C pages to introduce big concepts about reef habitats: the types of reefs in the oceans near Australia, the concept of biodiversity, and the biology of corals. The focus then shifts to the animals that live in the reefs, with double-page spreads featuring Lessac's recognizable brightly colored illustrations of an array of animal groups and species in their shallow-water environments. Basic descriptions of familiar creatures such as fish, octopuses, and turtles as well as less-familiar species such as Queensland groupers, kanga nudibranchs, and violet sea apples are presented in larger text, with additional facts in smaller type incorporated throughout the illustrations. None of the letter matches (including X for xanthid crabs) are forced--and many more could have been selected--underscoring the diversity of life in the reef habitats. An appended "spot the fish" challenge encourages readers to revisit the pages, this time on the hunt for specific fish species.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(2) PS Whose Is THAT? series. Illustrated by Kelsey Oseid. Lunde and Oseid's third collaboration stays true to their successful formula, turning this nonfiction picture book into a guessing game that uses eggs to explore different species and teach larger lessons about the natural world. Spreads follow a pattern that young children will quickly grasp: the first spread asks a question ("Whose egg is that?"), the second shows a close-up of the egg, the third pans out and identifies the parent animal, and the fourth gives a few additional facts about the species. Oseid's delicately rendered gouache illustrations provide visual hints. Each page-turn builds in details that reward the alert observer and teach much about the animals' habitats and behaviors. Many young readers will be surprised and delighted to find that eggs come in an array of colors and sizes. Others will enjoy learning how not just birds, but also animals such as platypuses and leatherback sea turtles come from eggs. Pair this crowd pleaser with Aston and Long's An Egg Is Quiet to foster children's curiosity and observation of the world around them.

Reviewer: Adrienne L. Pettinelli | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(2) K-3 "Do you see our adaptations-- / a tail, / a horn, / a claw, / or beak? / Others aren't so easy to spot. / Can you find them? / Take a peek!" With this introduction, Park invites readers to learn about animal structures that may not be observable until an animal opens its mouth, spreads its limbs, or brushes back its fur or feathers. Page layouts are designed to first hint at the featured adaptation. When the page is turned, an intriguing body part is revealed, accompanied by an accessible explanation of how that part is used by the animal to eat, maneuver, defend, or attack. Crisp, zoomed-in stock photographs of the animals, including pangolins, penguins, owls, and red-eyed tree frogs, clearly show the fine details of their distinctive anatomies. The book ends with a prompt for readers to relate the scientific concept of structure and function to their own bodies: "What's something / we might not see / that makes you, YOU?"

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(2) K-3 With a poetic text and sharp, uncluttered photographs, the Sayres examine transitions in the natural world--transitions from physical spaces as well as those between states of being. The initial double-page spread sets the stage: "Every creature / on earth / at times / finds / itself / in / between." A stark white background encourages scrutiny of the accompanying photograph of three chicks, "in between" birth and maturity, lined up in a nest located inside the V of two intersecting rafters. Other spreads, composed of two, three, or four images, create similar tableaux with layers of meaning; text placement expands the viewing experience. The authors gradually introduce synonyms; readers see a pair of birds with eyes just about closed, "almost asleep, / but not yet"; and see a duckling flapping its wings, as "in the meanwhiles" it grows stronger. Ideal for a group read-aloud, this book encourages discussion of personal "in betweens."

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Rob Dunlavey. When a whale dies, its body sinks to the ocean floor, and the end of its life marks the beginning of an entire new ecosystem composed of bottom-dwelling species. Stewart's restrained text steps through each phase in decomposition, noting how the whale's tissue serves as food for waves of scavengers and, over the course of several decades, allows a thriving ecosystem to develop. The featured species have quite elaborate names: hagfish and sleeper sharks arrive first, followed by roughscale rattails, snubnose eelpouts, and grooved tanner crabs, and then such "mini-munchers" as amphipods, Oregon hair crabs, hooded shrimp, and sea pigs. When only bones remain, zombie worms, and finally bacteria, complete their dissolution. Other equally interestingly named species feast on the scavengers, forming the chains and webs of organism relationships. Dunlavey's striking waterscapes gently portray death and the new life that flourishes in its aftermath, with inset close-ups that highlight the anatomical details of the smallest of the ocean creatures. End notes provide facts and figures about the animals and a list of resources to learn more about ocean environments.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jessica Lanan. An offstage narrator speaks directly to the moon, expressing thanks for the light it provides, and sometimes doesn't, to the inhabitants of Earth at night. Most animals (and one plant)--including such land animals as dung beetles and nightjars, and sea creatures, such as zooplankton and corals--benefit from the brighter phases, when moonlight allows them to see their food or a clear path to safety. Others, including lions and kangaroo rats, benefit from the darker phases, when a lack of light provides cover to sneak up on their prey or hide from their predators. An emotive main text ("Thank you for guiding tiny turtles to the sea") is accompanied by a secondary text where scientific explanations are detailed. The illustrations of moonlit land and seascapes are perfectly matched to both texts, including scientifically accurate representations of light interacting with the environment and changes in the moon across different lunar phases. The art also skillfully contrasts glowing light and tonal variations within darkness to emphasize the beauty of low-light landscapes. At the end of the book, two diagrams present the basics about moon phases and the path of reflected light from sun to moon to Earth. Facts about the featured animals are also included, as are selected sources and a brief bibliography.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(2) K-3 Welsh presents an account about the migration habits of six different animals that can function as a comforting bedtime story or thoughtful read-aloud. With lyrical patterned text, we follow the travels of an arctic tern "in search of summer in the sky," followed by the oft-repeated line, "It was time to move south for winter." Next, humpback whales swim "in search of summer in the waves" and caribou climb "in search of summer in the hills." Canada geese soar "in search of summer on the lake," a leatherback turtle dives deep "in search of summer in the ocean," and monarch butterflies sail and flutter "in search of summer in the trees," each acknowledging that "it was time to move south for winter." The simple, descriptive lines are accompanied by expansive, double-page illustrations in washes of cool blues that capture the sweep and movement of the story while also providing small details that enhance the informative aspects. For example, the life cycle of the arctic tern is suggested by the changing colors of its feathers, beak, and legs as it migrates and grows to adulthood, ending with a nest and a new baby tern being born. The last line of text--"Time to move north for summer"--provides another satisfying, full-circle moment. Brief back matter offers a paragraph of helpful information about the six animals depicted, along with a simple image of Earth showing the migration patterns of each one.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Amy Hevron. This informative and appealing nonfiction picture book gives young readers a detailed look at the tide-pool ecology of the Pacific Coast, the "astonishing world" of creatures that wait in seawater collected among rocks on the shore until the next high tide. The text begins before the title-page spread, as ocean waves slap onto the shore and then retreat; ­Fleming captures the ocean's movement with drama (the waves "CR-A-A-A-A-SH" and then "cr-e-e-e-e-p out"). After the water pools, mussels, snails, chitons, an octopus, and others wait patiently until the "pool is part of the sea once more." Just as the sea "brim[s] with life," the text is filled with vivid and descriptive action verbs: sea anemones "bloom," waves "sweep," the octopus "glides," a rock crab "scoots," and more. Fleming's expertly paced text rolls much like the "restless" wave on the shore; the repetition of "They wait" in the first half builds anticipation as the story slowly unfolds. Hevron's textured illustrations invite close inspection; her depiction of the animals when they return to the ocean is especially inviting as the undersea world fills with color and movement. Her shapes are simple; her compositions, unfussy. Ample back matter provides information on how these creatures survive the low tide.

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(1) K-3 "What if your body could make its own light?" In Kuo's gorgeous exploration of bioluminescence, an adult and child encounter organisms that do just that in the air, sea, and underground. The black-backgrounded illustrations creatively employ negative space and a limited palette--almost exclusively blue, orange, tan, and white--to produce images that effectively capture the subdued glow of bioluminescent life. At first, the human pair appears in the illustrations alongside fireflies, foxfire, glowworms, and dinoflagellates, all of which live in locations people can visit. Kuo then invites the two (and readers) to "just imagine..." what it's like deep in the ocean where bioluminescent animals live, where their light helps vampire squid scare their enemies, dragonfish find food, and jeweled squid camouflage themselves. The poetic main text, which encourages observation and wonder, is accompanied by short paragraphs, in a smaller font, that present factual information about the featured organisms. The final pages issue a gentle warning that human-caused light pollution is making this amazing phenomenon increasingly difficult to see.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(3) K-3 In this assemblage of collective nouns, Rzezak uses the animal group names as a starting point for an exploration of communal behavior and its links to survival. So, for example, a "cast of spider crabs" protect one another during the vulnerable molting period, and "colonies of penguins" create nurseries for the communal care of their children. The illustrations, which cleverly use a stencil technique to combine uniform forms with slight individual variations, provide both beauty and welcome humor, which offsets the sophisticated and relatively staid prose. Glos.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Dominique Ramsey. Most animals live in groups, but some live most of their lives by themselves. Stein introduces four solitary species and contrasts their contented solo lifestyles with social animals in similar habitats. In describing the social animals, their colorful collective nouns are used: after a parade of elephants, tower of giraffes, and dazzle of zebras arrive at a waterhole, the panther appears "by herself" without additional descriptors. Similarly, an octopus and an eagle are contrasted with sea and air animals, respectively, which include a pod of whales, school of fish, huddle of hummingbirds, and kit of pigeons. A lone sloth receives no comparisons but is instead amusingly portrayed moving very slowly as a single short sentence unfolds across a three-spread sequence: "The sloth is... / ...a solitary... / ...animal, too." The visually stunning and dynamic illustrations favor inky black, indigo, and light blue backgrounds, in front of which the contrastingly colorful animals seem to glow. A section titled "More about Solitary Animals" provides brief answers to questions young children might ask as they compare their feelings about aloneness with those of the creatures.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022