Copyright © Dimensions Educational Research Foundation 26 READING MATTERS All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be ExchangePress.com reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. EXCHANGE MAY/JUNE 2021 Visit us at www.ExchangePress.com or call (800) 221-2864. Reading Matters Learning from the Wild Things: Celebrating Books about Animals The Caldecott Medal is given each Jean Dugan has been connecting kids with books for year to the illustrator of the “best” over 40 years. She helped establish a library program in the illustrated book for children, and elementary schools of Gloucester, Massachusetts, and later brought her love of children’s literature to the public library the first of these was awarded in there. This is one more opportunity for her to share the best 1938 to Dorothy Lathrop for her new books with children and those who care about them. black and white illustrations for Animals of the Bible. “Best” is a subjec- tive term, but since that first medal, many beloved Caldecott winners have featured animals, and have Yuko Shimizu is the recipient of a 2021 Caldecott been winning over the readers who love them. Who Honor Medal for her detailed ink and watercolor can forget Jane Yolen’s quiet Owl Moon, or William illustrations for The Cat Man of Aleppo, a time- Steig’s magical Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, or Boston’s ly book based on a true story from Syria. Alaa is own all-time favorite, Make Way for Ducklings? Here are some a paramedic who passionately loves his ancient new picture books, both informative and fun, featuring animals city and continues to live and work there, helping of all kinds. with rescue efforts during and after the civil war. Alaa’s heroic mission focuses not only on caring for the many or- phaned children left behind, but also on creating a safe house for many of the pets that remain. Support for the cats of Aleppo has What kind of animal would you be if your pupils become a worldwide effort for, as co-author Karim Shamsi-Basha were shaped like the letter W, or like an oval, or comments about animals, “caring for them illuminates what it a rectangle? How about if you had eight eyes, or means to be human.” if your eyeballs were completely immoveable? In Eye by Eye: Comparing how Animals See, The Cat Man of Aleppo by Irene Latham and Karim Shamsi- Sara Levine explores what it might be like to see Basha, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2020) the world through someone else’s eyes—in this case a variety of Ages 6 – 10. animals with different types of eyes, pupils and abilities. The book offers a glossary, additional reading and activities. Eye by Eye: Comparing how Animals See by Sara Levine, Even the smallest of animals is fascinating, illustrated by T.S. Spookytooth (Millbrook, 2021) Ages 4 – 8. and Maria Popova tells the story of Jeremy, The Snail with the Right Heart, serendipi- tously discovered in an English garden. Jeremy’s internal organs and shell spiral are reversed due We know that we as humans are better togeth- to a condition called situs inversus, making his er, and the same is true of many wild things. In body a mirror image of most other snails. Because Jeremy is so Packs: Strength in Numbers, we learn how unique, his caretakers search worldwide to find him a mate with animals form bonds in large groups for safety, similar traits—a one in a million chance. In this romantic (and true) efficiency and to confuse predators. A school tale, we also learn about genetics, gender, evolution, and snail of fish works as a team to hunt its prey. A swarm of bees splits a reproduction (here called “puzzle piecing,” an apt description). long list of duties to pollinate, make honey and care for its young. Ping Zhu perfectly illustrates the wonder of the universe, and the Packs, herds, prides and billows of diverse creatures crowd the amazing story of one little snail. pages of this beautiful and informative book by Hannah Salyer. The Snail with the Right Heart by Maria Popova, Packs: Strength in Numbers by Hannah Salyer illustrated by Ping Zhu (Enchanted Lion, 2021) Ages 6 – 10. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020) Ages 4 – 8. ExchangePress.com READING MATTERS 27 MAY/JUNE 2021 EXCHANGE Photo courtesy of Annie Spratt from Pixabay Reading Matters Board books are always popular for little ones. They Here is a fun little series for younger readers by Elise are easy to hold, almost indestructible and many Gravel appropriately called Disgusting Critters! The of them feature wonderful illustrations. My First books feature fascinating and amusing facts about small Bilingual Animals/Los Animales contains more animals that children may be familiar with, but which animals than the San Diego Zoo, or so it seems, in are generally under-appreciated in the adult world. Kids groupings that make sense to very young children. will learn all kinds of truths, both beneficial and not, in There is a page of climbing animals and one of this appealing series with clever illustrations by the author. running animals, a page of animals with stripes, one with spots, and Recent additions to the series are The Mosquito (“more dan- a page of animals that only come out at night. The photographs, as gerous to humans than sharks or lions”), and The Cockroach we have come to expect from DK Publishing, are visually pleasing (“when she’s hungry, she’ll eat just about anything”); other and the captions are in both English and Spanish. titles include Head Lice, The Rat, and The Fly. You get the picture. My First Bilingual Animals/Los Animales by Sarah Davis and The Cockroach (2016), The Mosquito (2020) by Elise Gravel Dawn Sirett (Dorling Kindersley, 2020) Ages 0 – 4. (Disgusting Critters Series, Tundra) Ages 5 – 9. It was David Opie’s stunning illustrations that drew Sy Montgomery, author of countless children’s books about animals, as well as the National Book Award me to All the Birds in the World. Here are, as the finalist and bestseller for adults,The Soul of an title tells us, a representation of dozens of species Octopus, writes, “It’s an important time to be writing in all the vibrant colors of their feathers and beaks, about the connections we share with our fellow crea- the assorted sizes and speckles of their eggs, the tures.” The children’s version of her book Becoming tweets and screams of their calls. Throughout, we a Good Creature shares lessons she’s learned by ob- follow a curious kiwi, that unusual creature native to New Zealand serving the natural world. Wait patiently and see what that doesn’t seem to fit into any category–but is still a bird. The you might see. Respect others, and even a gorilla will illustrations by a lifelong birder are brilliantly appealing, and the respect you in return. Rebecca Green, also clearly a lover of wild things, kiwi’s questions are a charming addition to a book that is loaded illustrated this charming and wise book. with bird information. Becoming a Good Creature by Sy Montgomery, illustrated by All the Birds in the World by David Opie (Peter Pauper Press, Rebecca Green (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021) Ages 4 – 8. 2020) Ages 3 – 8. Holly Meade’s illustrations for In the Sea by David Everybody loves bears. A Book of Bears Elliot really do make the reader feel like they are examines the habits and habitats of the eight part of the ocean, being tossed by waves, breach- major species of bears around the globe, mixing ing the surface, or just drifting in the deep. Her ink hard facts with a bit of amusing humanization and woodcut pages are alive with the ocean, the (no, spectacled bears aren’t just trying to look waves, the sky and the sand, and they perfectly cool!). We learn about comparative size, speed complement David Elliot’s short poems about sea and strength of bears, their various eating and creatures, like the Giant Squid: “Few have seen him./Few wish to./Hide sleeping habits and which species are the best from this one!/(that’s what fish do.) From the sardine (“Tiny”) to the swimmers, climbers and runners. And which bears, like our old blue whale (“an island, a mountain,”) we meet some amazing creatures friend Winnie the Pooh, really do love honey. in the depths of the sea. A Book of Bears: At home with Bears around the World In the Sea by David Elliot, illustrations by Holly Meade by Katie Viggers (Lawrence King, 2018) Ages 5 – 9. (Candlewick, 2012) Ages 3 – 7. .