Robin Page's art is familiar from her collaborations with Steve Jenkins, but I've noticed that, generally speaking, when she works alone her books tend to be directed towards a younger audience. Here she follows a familiar concept - focusing on one part of an animal's anatomy - but the text is simpler and aimed at preschool or kindergarten listeners.
Each page shows a different bird with a different beak and a sentence in a colorful font that gives a single use, "This beak is for filtering." says pink text above the curved neck and black beak of a flamingo. "This beak is for snapping." says blue text above the textured white and pink form of a spoonbill with its broad, flat beak. A smaller, thumbnail illustration shows the bird (and beak) in use, captioned with its name, while a longer sentence or two gives more information. In the case of the American flamingo, "The flamingo turns its beak upside down to filter algae, insects, and shrimp from the water."
An infographic compares the size of the birds to an adult human in silhouette and shows their location. There is also a simple collection of websites and books for further reading.
This would be useful not only for children wanting to learn more about birds but for expanding vocabulary as the verbs introduced cover a wide range of activities, including straining, sniffing, cooling, skimming, and plucking.
Verdict: An excellent choice if you are looking to expand your nonfiction for young readers and listeners from preschool up through early elementary.
ISBN: 9781534460416; Published January 2021 by Beach Lane; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Purchased for the library
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