(2) K-3 Illustrated by Clover Robin. In this accessible science picture book, a common swift flies from Africa to Europe in order to nest and reproduce in the summer. The two-tiered narrative (larger print tells a streamlined version for younger readers, while smaller print delves into greater detail) includes such noteworthy specifics as swifts' ability to remain aloft without touching the ground for as long as four years, to sleep with one half of their brain at a time while in flight, and to drink raindrops while in motion. Sidebars introduce the life cycle of the parasitic louse fly, which lives in the bird's feathers and pupates in the nesting boxes. Engaging collage-like mixed-media illustrations against varied backgrounds capture the characteristic motion of swifts in flight. The pacing and level of detail are just right for young readers, while the information on life cycle and abilities is sure to impress slightly older ones. Back matter includes a map of the migration route, descriptions of various swift species, a pertinent web address, and an index.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 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 In the rainforests of Central America, leafcutter ants live in colonies of up to "eight million sisters." Likening the colonies to human cities, Hevron shows how the division of labor across ant subgroups keeps a colony functioning. We travel along with the ants as they move above and below ground -- within the green foliage of the rainforest floor and canopy, then down through the tan soil into underground chambers that house ant larvae, laborers, and the queen. Each chamber features a different worker group, analogized to human occupations: caretakers feed the young, builders create tunnels, farmers tend to the important fungus that sustains the colony, etc. When a poison dart frog, "hungry for an all-you-can-eat leafcutter ant buffet," intrudes, pheromone alerts go out, and soldier ants rush in. The cycle continues as a young queen gathers fungus, embarks on a "mating flight," and forms a new "city." Hevron's textured, brightly colored illustrations (acrylic paintings on wood, digitally collaged) are filled with columns of industrious ants on the move, endlessly trooping across the pages. Additional information about leafcutter ants and colonies and further reading are appended.

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

(2) K-3 Ursula is a happy pink catfish who enjoys her life eating bugs, only to be asked one day why she swims upside down. What a strange question! Ursula had thought all fish swam like this, with their bellies turned up to the surface of the water. This query causes her to doubt her viewpoint, and if she might be in the wrong: "Was left right?! Was right wrong?! Which way was even up??" These wonderings rock Ursula's world, quite literally: "Her whole world flipped." And with that (the now much-anticipated "Tabor turn" established in Mel Fell, rev. 3/21, and Simon and the Better Bone, rev. 7/23), readers are instructed to flip the book upside down and turn the pages right to left. Ursula now sees the world as others do and realizes that she is, indeed, upside down. When she encounters a bat, she is shown another point of view, in which upside down is perfectly usual. Ultimately, Ursula decides that she gets to determine what's normal. Tabor's mixed-media illustrations bring levity to the book's more serious message, and the book-flipping and page-turns give readers a tactile, sensory experience of changing perspective. Per a brief author's note, the protagonist is based on an actual species of catfish that swims upside down in the Congo River. Julie

Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Richard Jones . When Yoshi, a real-life loggerhead turtle, hatches, she immediately crawls to the Indian Ocean and begins swimming out to sea. After five nomadic years, she becomes entangled in a fishing net (a sequence of events Jones depicts as a timeline of circles, each spotlighting her increasing distress). Unable to breathe, she begins an arduous journey to the surface, dramatically illustrated in a full-bleed, double-page watercolor spread showing Yoshi alone in the sea hauling a mass of fishing net behind her. A fisherman rescues her, eventually taking her to Cape Town's Two Oceans Aquarium, where she lives for twenty years. When Yoshi reaches sexual maturity, the aquarists initiate a program of reintroducing her into the wild; they finally do so, equipping her with a satellite tracker. To the scientists' surprise, she swims up the western coast of Africa, turns around, heads south, and returns to her heretofore unknown native beach in Australia, where she mates and deposits her eggs on the very shore where she originally hatched--a 22,998-mile journey. There's much to discuss about the interplay of instinct, perseverance, and luck in this fine book. An author's note describes Cox's inspiration--"I am intrigued by Yoshi's story because I too am a long-distance swimmer. I was the first person to swim around the rough waters surrounding the Cape of Good Hope, Africa" --and separates fact from supposition; a suggested website documents Yoshi's release.

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

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Marc Martin. Starlings are social birds, at times flying in groups so large that their wings create a murmuring sound that can be heard by humans on the ground. A honed text and stunning watercolor, pencil, and digital collage illustrations work together to give readers a sense of this phenomenon. "There are hundreds of us! / There are thousands of us! / There are millions of us!" Furrow brings his background as a scientist and Napoli her wide experience writing for children to this collaboration that has both the rhythm of poetry and simple but accurate information: "We find strength and safety in numbers. / We find warmth in numbers." Starlings fill and overflow the pages, swooping in gorgeous waves across the double-page spreads as the birds escape from a hungry falcon or land en masse in a field. The colors of the mixed-media illustrations bleed and blend together. The edges of each bird's wings are indistinct, smudging and overlapping as the mass travels together across the reds, oranges, and pinks of the sky. A striking gatefold gives a sense of the massive scale of a murmuration. An endnote gives readers additional information about starling behavior. Pair with Scanlon and Preston-Gannon's One Dark Bird (rev. 7/19).

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Laurie Keller. Holub and Keller (I Am the Shark!, rev. 7/21) are back with another apex-predator smackdown. Brown Bear boldly asserts that it's "the only bear in this book," a statement quickly challenged by Polar Bear. While Polar Bear has "paws and claws. Fur too," the fact that it lives in a snowy climate seems suspect to temperate-climate-dwelling Brown Bear. How can they both be bears? After they compare physical adaptations, diet, and behaviors, Brown Bear lets Polar Bear stay. "We are the only two bears in this book!" Not so fast! They're joined by six more bears, each one providing a species-specific description of its attributes. American Black Bear is "a great tree-climber, thanks to my strong, short, curved claws." Sloth Bear's claws are "good for ripping into trees and mounds to find insects." Keller's collage illustrations (traditional and digital) match the energy of Holub's good-natured text and make the goofy-looking bears easily distinguishable. When a suspicious eight-armed, tentacled "bear" tries to join the group, the bears unite and draw up a definitive list of "Eight Things That Make a Bear a Bear." A final double-page spread provides more information about each bear (and one octopus...and one not-a-bear koala); a list of related books and websites is appended. Will readers like this book? "Duh. Does a bear poop in the woods?"

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(2) K-3 Lanan asks readers to imagine what life would be like as a regal jumping spider as they learn about this creature's traits and life cycle alongside a young girl who is observing one. The child arrives at an idyllic community garden to play with friends and neighbors. She is unaware that "Jumper," a regal jumper spider, is watching from the garden fence. With Jumper's reveal, the illustrations--lush creations in ink, watercolor, and gouache--shift to a spider's-eye perspective: the fence posts now loom large, a huge chickadee flies menacingly close, and tall green plants are everywhere. As the girl happily explores the garden environment, she climbs, runs, and observes her surroundings through sight and sound. Each activity is then paralleled by the hungry Jumper as she moves around the garden in search of prey, and explanations of spider senses--such as acute hearing through fine hairs, eyes that can see all around (demonstrated by an effective gatefold spread), and extraordinary jumping abilities--are provided. In a dramatic action sequence, Jumper finally spots and captures a fly almost as big as she is. Extensive back matter includes additional information about spider anatomy and life cycles, a glossary, and tips for spider observation.

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

(3) K-3 Twelve double-page spreads feature a striking animal photo on the left-hand page and, on the right, an up-close photo of a robot designed to move like the featured animal. The verso's two lines of text focus on the creature's movements (e.g., "HOVER like a hummingbird, / FLYING overhead"); text on the recto offers a bit more detail about the corresponding robot and how its design is helpful to humans ("The Nano Air Vehicle (NAV)...was designed for spy missions in cities"). This is a straightforward and engaging introduction to the topic for early elementary-age readers; those who want to know more will find the final page's discussion of biomimicry and an appended reading list useful. A glossary is also included.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(2) PS Illustrated by Kelsey Oseid. Following the format of Whose Poop Is THAT? (rev. 3/17), Lunde poses the title question seven times about seven different animals in a series of four-page sequences, inviting readers to guess the makers of various footprints and impressions. Each print, rendered in shades of black and brown on a white background, is centered prominently on the right-hand page. A clue for identification comes via the accompanying text, which emphasizes the motions or actions employed to produce the print ("It was made by running on snow"; "It was made by standing in soft mud"). Additional hints to each creature's identity are found on left-hand pages, with glimpses of an ear, tail, nose, etc., edging into the picture. For the reveal, illustrations of mountain goats, wallaroos, snowshoe hares, snakes, flamingos, chimpanzees, and even a dinosaur are accompanied by information about what part of them made the prints (variously: feet, bodies, knuckles) and the ways their physiologies allow the animals to move or balance; the seven examples are carefully chosen to represent the relationships between morphology and function. The book ends with a look at the various prints people can make with their footwear, connecting familiar human experiences with their animal equivalents.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2020

(3) PS Baby Animals series. Noted wildlife photographer Eszterhas (Baby Animals Playing) returns to document wild baby animals on the move: some self-propelling (zebras, orcas), others needing help from adults (a lion cub carried in its mother's mouth, a baby otter riding on its mother's belly). Sharp, clear photos feature close-up shots of the animal babies; the brief text functions mainly as captions.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) K-3 Extreme Animals series. In these informational books, collage master Jenkins introduces early readers to some of the fastest (cheetahs, aardvarks) and smelliest (hoatzin, millipede) creatures. A descriptive paragraph provides information about each animal. The books feature dynamic cut-paper illustrations and sidebars highlighting location, food, size, and speed (in Speediest). The final spread contains a summarizing infographic. Bib., glos. Review covers these titles: Speediest! and Stinkiest!

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(3) 4-6 How Nature Works series. Well designed and illustrated with captivating photos, this volume introduces animals that glide, including rodents, frogs, lizards, and snakes. Most live in forests and gliding helps them move from tree to tree without descending to the ground. The engaging text includes the evolution and adaptations of gliders and a discussion of gliding vs. flying and gliding vs. parachuting. Reading list, websites. Glos.

Reviewer: Grace Worcester Greene

(3) 4-6 Wild and domestic animals, including a goat, an elephant, and an alligator, are each given a new lease on life through innovative wheelchairs or prosthetic body parts. The volume also profiles the devices' creators and discusses how the inventions help humans as well. Although there's a certain repetition to the stories, they're engaging and inspiring, illustrated with plenty of appealing photos. Websites. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(4) K-3 Animal Olympics series. This series imagines how three species would fare in fictional Olympic competitions. After introducing a human Olympian in the featured sport, each book discusses its animal contenders, focusing on agility and other traits that give the animal an edge. A double-page "Award Ceremony" declares who wins gold, silver, and bronze. Gimmicky but informative. There are four other fall 2017 books in this series. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Animal Olympics titles: Animal Boxing Stars, Animal Diving Stars, Animal High Jumping Stars, and Animal Gymnastics Stars.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(3) K-3 Reading outdoors means that critters (insects, a snake, frog, etc.) keep landing on the pages of this book. Readers are encouraged to remove them ("Flip it over... Will the frog drop off?") while noticing how they move ("Nope! Treefrogs stick"). Conversational, humorous text in dynamic typefaces and colorful illustrations will keep kids engaged. An "Explore More" appendix offers activities and further information.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(4) K-3 Animal Olympics series. This series imagines how three species would fare in fictional Olympic competitions. After introducing a human Olympian in the featured sport, each book discusses its animal contenders, focusing on agility and other traits that give the animal an edge. A double-page "Award Ceremony" declares who wins gold, silver, and bronze. Gimmicky but informative. There are four other fall 2017 books in this series. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Animal Olympics titles: Animal Boxing Stars, Animal Diving Stars, Animal High Jumping Stars, and Animal Gymnastics Stars.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(4) K-3 In a somewhat too-lengthy text, Holland presents a very basic overview of the functions of the legs and feet of moles, frogs, caterpillars, and nine other fairly common creatures. Large color photographs sometimes awkwardly bleed across the gutter and aren't always crisp (e.g., the legs on the backswimmer are indistinct). Further information and matching activities are appended. Bib.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Steve Jenkins. A clear, informative text emphasizes three key scientific concepts about locomotion: the act of movement, body parts employed, and purposes for moving. Each form of locomotion is introduced with a spread featuring an oddity, such as a walking octopus, shown in Jenkins's vivid, trademark torn- and cut-paper collage illustrations. A second spread about the same topic includes additional animals (in smaller illustrations). End papers feature more facts.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2016