Do baby elephants suck their trunks? Amazing ways animals are just like us by Ben Lerwill, illustrated by Katharine McEwen

 This simple picture book blends animal and human behavior together for a look at how the young of various mammals behave.

The author speaks directly to the audience, asking them questions like "Has a grown-up carried you in their arms?" and then explaining how this behavior is seen in an animal, in this case an orangutan. The examples include elephants, lions, whales, and several other mammals. The font for the brief text is large and the text could be divided into just the question, using the book for dialogic reading, or including the longer explanatory paragraph for a slightly older audience. The final pages of the book show toddlers and infants, with a diversity of ethnicities, performing typical actions that mimic some of the activities in the book. The text says "The things that make us the same are as special as the things that make us different." and then listeners are asked to imagine being a different kind of animal.

The collage-style illustrations blend a number of textures and shapes together to create pictures of animals and their habitats that, while not having the detail of realistic or photographic illustrations, will still be familiar and easily identifiable for young listeners. 

Verdict: This is a strong choice for storytime and will appeal to toddlers and preschoolers. It can easily be expanded with extension activities or adapted for dialogic reading. Recommended.

ISBN: 9781536224047; Published June 2022 by Candlewick; Borrowed from another library in my consortium