Book
What do you do when something wants to eat you?
Record details
- ISBN: 9780395825143
- ISBN: 0395825148
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Physical Description:
print
1 v. (unpaged) : col. ill. ; 21 x 27 cm. - Publisher: Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Animal defenses -- Juvenile literature Animal defenses |
Available copies
- 3 of 3 copies available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at Prince Rupert Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 3 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Rupert Library | JP JENK (Text) | 33294001018639 | Juvenile Picture Books | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Monthly Selections - #1 December 1997
/*Starred Review*/ Ages 4^-8. Fourteen different animals escape their predators in this thrilling, beautiful science book illustrated with Jenkins' dramatic cut-paper collages. On each right-hand page, there is a tense, close-up confrontation between an animal and its attacker: turn the page, and the prey has tricked the predator with camouflage and other self-defense tactics. The first example is an octopus, but most of the creatures will be new to children, from the hover fly (which mimics the appearance of a wasp) and the hog-nosed snake (which plays dead) to the South American basilisk "Jesus Christ" lizard (which uses its large feet and great speed to run across the surface of water). There is less text here than in some of Jenkins' other books, and children will want to find out more about the particular animals and their behaviors and habitats. The collages are clear and uncluttered; each brilliantly colored picture draws your eye to the dangerous standoff. The scenes vary from the deep blue of the ocean depths to the grainy brown of a tree trunk, and set against these backgrounds are dramatic details of the transformation that allows the animal to survive. The final question--which is also the title of the book--makes clear why these zoological facts have the mythic power to scare us and connect us with the natural world. Even as kids shudder at the bared teeth of the predator, they will identify with the trickster who gets away. ((Reviewed December 1, 1997)) Copyright 2000 Booklist Reviews - Horn Book Guide Reviews : Horn Book Guide Reviews 1998
Jenkins has produced another marvel of cut-paper collage in this eye-catching picture book that turns a nature lesson into a guessing game. Young children will delight in first guessing, then seeing, how each of fourteen unusual animals (ranging from the glass snake to the pangolin to the bombardier beetle) avoid becoming someone else's dinner. Copyright 1998 Horn Book Guide Reviews - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 1997 November #2
In this absorbing tribute to nature's genius, cut-paper collages illustrate the built-in defenses of animals and insects. Using collage to represent a diverse range of critters from the leathery lizard to the airy silkmoth, Jenkins (Big and Little) artfully matches handmade papers to fur, feathers, scales and skin. The artistic diversity is surpassed only by the animals' modes of escape such as camouflage (a harmless hoverfly takes on a wasp's appearance), surprise (a skink flashes its bright blue tongue and wags it side to side), chemical warfare (a bombardier beetle shoots poison out of its rear end) and even levitation (a basilisk lizard runs on water). Although the forthright text lacks the dexterity of the collages, the high interest of the and may prompt them to discover more about the intelligence, humor, eccentricity and stamina to be found in nature. This is the kind of book that awakens the scientist in young readers. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) Copyright 1998 Publishers Weekly Reviews - School Library Journal Reviews : SLJ Reviews 1997 November
Gr 3-5 Jenkins answers the question of what different creatures do when another wants them for dinner. He identifies the animal on one page ("the bombardier beetle defends itself...") and then follows up with its defense mechanism on the next ("by shooting a mixture of hot chemicals from its rear end and into the face of an attacker"). The artist's trademark cut-paper collages on textured backgrounds show both attacker and potential prey on one page, and then a close-up of the animal escaping on the next. Defenses include mimicry, camouflage, and speed as well as specific responses such as the ink that octopuses use or the puffer fish's ability to expand itself. The final page invites readers to imagine, "What would you do if something wanted to eat you?" Useful for teachers introducing animal defenses and the terms that go along with the subject and a great choice for a storytime. Sally Bates Goodroe, Houston Public Library Copyright 1998 School Library Journal Reviews
