I personally enjoy this type of general expository animal book, but I recently reviewed that section in my nonfiction (590-591 if you're wondering) and was disappointed to see that circulation there is not as robust as it once was. Kids, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say teachers, seem to be leaning heavily towards books on individual animals, especially those with lower reading levels and fewer words.
However, if these books for older readers have shrunk in popularity, they are still popular for younger listeners and Cherrix strikes a nice balance between information and length. Each spread features one or two short paragraphs describing an animal's "superpower." These include the hearing of owls, an opossum's ability to withstand snake venom, a dog's sense of smell, and more. Preston-Gannon's art is colorful and shows bright, thick brushstrokes of color to portray animals in action from tardigrades to flying spiders.
I appreciated that the text was enclosed in black-rimmed boxes with a white background. It's often difficult to read aloud picture books where the text is incorporated into the artwork (at least, for those of us whose eyesight is definitely not getting any better as they age...) but I was a little disappointed that the layout did not include a larger, bold sentence, making the book more adaptable to reading for younger listeners.
Verdict: This is a colorful and interesting collection of information about animals and would work well as a read-aloud for an older elementary class. As a read-aloud for younger listeners, the reader will need to be able to quickly adapt and shorten the text to hold their attention.
ISBN: 9781534456273; Reinforced/Picture Book listed on Baker & Taylor for $15.19
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