Oh, Those Amazing Animals 2

Their cleverness is astounding.  So is their adaptability.  These two, ingenuity and versatility, have been and continue to be the key to their survival in an ever-and-fast-changing environment.  Humans have failed repeatedly in their stewardship of our planet, but animals continue to prevail.  Their lives move to rhythms we don't fully comprehend.

The more we do understand, the more we appreciate the marvelous animals inhabiting this world.  In North & South: A Tale Of Two Hemispheres (Candlewick Press, July 6, 2021) written and illustrated by New Zealand author illustrator Sandra Morris, we journey through the months of the year.  Each month a special characteristic is examined and compared in the two hemispheres.  Let us begin this enlightening exploration.

INTRODUCTION

Earth is divided into the Northern Hemisphere and the

Southern Hemisphere by an imaginary line called the equator.

One of the most important differences between the two hemispheres is the timing of

seasons.

In the introduction we find that the four seasons, winter, spring, summer, and autumn as well as the dry season and wet season in each hemisphere are being affected by climate change.  This along with other human recklessness is putting animals in danger.  

It is estimated that sixty percent of mammal, bird, fish, and reptile populations have been wiped out since 1970.

We are further informed as to which months fall within each of the seasons.

Two pages are devoted to each month.  These sections are titled, and a single sentence defines those titles. Information about an animal in the northern and the southern hemisphere is placed in columns on the left and right sides.  Depending on where readers reside, the animals are familiar or new, but the facts are appealing, nonetheless.

Japanese macaques stay cozy by sitting in the local hot springs.  Their counterparts in Tanzania, Africa feed their chicks "red milk." Can you guess the kind of bird?  If those living in the northern hemisphere have never seen a dam built by an American beaver, make it a goal.  Hoatzins build nests over the water on platforms.  That must be a sight to see around the Amazon River.

Birds in both hemispheres dance to attract mates different times of the year.  Others have forms of armor for protection.  Who knew a kind of beetle and turtle shared something in common?  In September, we discover the truth about Portuguese man-of-war and springbok pronking.  Some animal residents on this planet are moving annually in order to survive in a more favorable climate or to travel to breeding grounds.  The thousands of miles they travel is astonishing.

In anticipation of a slowing down of life or possible shortages, animals in the north and south use skills to hibernate and act as vessels for food.  Honeypot ants, found in Central Asia, eat more than the average amount of nectar . . . 

their bellies swell up like balloons.

Animals around the world are usually on the move in their search for food.  Sometimes they move from high country to low country as the seasons change.  Did you know elephants will travel sixty miles in their search for food?  Animals, individually or as a collective whole, are remarkable, season to season, year after year.

Through the words of Sandra Morris, we move from north to south, above and below the equator, across countries and continents learning about the range of animals residing there.  After her enriching introduction, each month supplies us with knowledge about birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, and fish.  Fascinating physical characteristics, eating habits, homes, breeding, and the care and raising of the young are presented.  Every page turn will leave readers amazed.  Here is a title, the companion sentence, a statement about an animal in the southern hemisphere, and a portion of the longer discussion.

ARMORED ANIMALS

Many creatures require tough exoskeletons, shells, or carapaces to protect

them from predators, battles with rivals, or even their environment.

Female leatherback turtles come ashore

on special nights to lay their eggs on

sandy beaches in Papua New Guinea, the

Solomon Islands, and the Florida coast.

LEATHERBACK

TURTLE

(Pacific, Atlantic & Indian Oceans)

Leatherback turtles are protected by a

bony plate under their skin, hence the

name "leatherback."  They live in many 

oceans, as far north as Alaska and as 

far south as the Cape of Good Hope, 

and spend most of their lives at sea,

eating mainly jellyfish.

On the open and matching dust jacket and book case, readers gain a preview of the animals' lives examined within the pages of the book.  The main title text placed in the large compass is a stunning display enhanced by the colorful wildlife circling it.  The blue canvas, perhaps representing the oceans of the world, crosses the spine to the back, left, of the jacket and case.  There, another compass holds a single sentence blurb of the book.  Silhouettes of all twenty-four animals encircle this compass.  Flora and fauna frame the ISBN at the bottom.

In turquoise and cream on the opening and closing endpapers, we find a world map providing us with views of the continents and oceans.  A compass is placed in the lower left-hand corner.  Silhouettes of the animals, in several distinct hues, are presented with a dotted line drawn from them to their country of residence.  In a beautiful design with black and gray on cream, the title text and compass stand alone on the title page.  On the verso, dedication, and contents pages, we are treated to more artistic depictions of creatures.

These illustrations by Sandra Morris rendered

in watercolor and salt 

are realistic, many of them highly animated.  We are brought close to the featured creatures.  The canvases on which they are placed blend from one hemisphere to the other hemisphere.  Beneath the larger columns of facts on the left and right sides are small world maps with a red dot indicating the place where the animals are found.  We are also shown their conservation status.  

One of my many favorite illustrations is for the month of February titled:

EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS.

These illustrations for all the months extend from two-thirds of a page on the left to two-thirds of a page on the right.  In this image, the banner citing Northern Hemisphere---Southern Hemisphere shifts in shades of blue to hues of pink.  It divides the page in half horizontally with a slight rise in the center.  On the top half is a group of four Japanese macaques.  We only see portions of their top halves and faces.  Their eyes are closed as they savor the warmth in a thermal pool.  In the bottom half are three adult flamingoes.  Surrounding their feet is a large group of chicks.  They are all enjoying a lake in Tanzania.

This book, North & South: A Tale Of Two Hemispheres written and illustrated by Sandra Morris, allows readers to expand their world view through the portrayed animals.  They journey beyond their particular community to other places through the seasons and months.  This title has applications in the study of times during the year, animal adaptations, and how to protect animals.  At the close of the book is a two-page glossary, index, and extra information on further reading and how you can help.  I highly recommend this title for both your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Sandra Morris, please visit the site linked to her name.  Sandra Morris has an account on Instagram.  Sandra Morris, a resident of New Zealand, is interviewed at The Sapling The Mahy Questionaire: Sandra Morris.  

Today, a contractor, working on bringing the roof of my recently acquired pergola to code, removed a large robin's nest.  He set it down on the edge of the fireplace.  Completely intact, it has weathered multiple torrential rains and howling high winds.  Carefully molded to hold eggs and the adult bodies, it is feat of design and development.  In Animal Architects (Beach Lane Books, September 7, 2021) written by Amy Cherrix with illustrations by Chris Sasaki, through astounding information and striking images, we learn of other feats of design and development by our animal companions on this planet.

Did you know the natural

world is a construction zone?

Whether they are large or small,

in the ocean or on land, animals

are amazing architects!

Four pages are devoted to each of eleven captivating and innovative structures.  What will these tell us about the animals who made them?  What can we learn from them?

Beneath the waters of the Coral Sea, small beings have been working for thousands of years to form the Great Barrier Reef.  Can you imagine a size so big; it can be seen in outer space?  Back on land, another tiny being fashions a trap out of silk.  Unsuspecting insects become meals.

There is a male bird who builds a home, then decorates it to attract a mate.  There are birds living in Antarctica who as a pair gather pebbles annually to assemble something special.  Wow!  You'll never guess how many prairie dogs lived in the largest recorded prairie dog town.  

Brick-forming termites, brick by brick, build towers which due to their unique shape are nature's own specialized HVAC systems.  Clever carrier snails use their specifically created type of glue to fool predators by building a body shield.  In mere minutes, a beaver can fell a tree used in construction of a dam.  The next time you are strolling through a field, the object you see is not a tennis ball among the grass, but a carefully constructed suspended home.  Phenomenal minds and phenomenal bodies have built the best.

For each of these eleven beings, author Amy Cherrix creates a conversational, two-part revelation.  Her first few sentences end with an unfinished sentence, a pause.  After the page turn, we discover what the animals have built, or what they intend to do.  It is an enticing cadence.  To heighten the appeal, descriptive adjectives and alliteration supply an added rhythm.  Within each of these two parts, Amy Cherrix includes facts certain to astound readers.    Here are three sentences after the page turn about ants.

Deep in their underground home, the ants dig

a roller-coaster network of tunnels and trails.

Together, these industrious insects can remove

2,205 pounds of earth per year.

That's a ton of dirt!

In a visually stunning array, the matching and open dust jacket and book case feature two themes, one of architectural blueprints and vibrant portraits of flora and fauna on a crisp white canvas.  On both the front, right, and back, left, the text is framed as it would be on a blueprint with stylized lettering.  The animals on the back and front are different and represent six of those showcased in the book.  On the spine a tiny honeybee separates the last name of the author and the illustrator.  On the back the ISBN is placed inside a tree stump.

On the opening and closing endpapers, the blueprint theme is continued, but it is almost like a naturalist's notebook, holding what has been seen or collected.  There we see grasses. seaweed, leaves, flowers, mushrooms, shells, an acorn, a tree ring, and some animals.  On the closing endpapers, part of the arrangement, on the left, is replaced with backmatter text.  Opposite the verso, in blueprint paper, is the title page.  This canvas is white with blue lettering.  Ants are the highlighted individuals, moving among mushrooms, grasses, and twigs.

These images by Chris Sasaki are destined to have readers stopping at page turns.  Rendered digitally, they are full of texture and gorgeous hues on a matte-finished paper.  When he takes us underwater, it is as if we are swimming among the fish.  On land, we wait with the trapdoor spider in darkness.  We feel the deep chill of the Antarctic habitat and the impressive achievement of the beaver.

Chris Sasaki alters his perspectives to draw us deeper into each animal's lives.  He brings us close when necessary or pulls back to give us greater meaning.  Sometimes we are looking down on a scene or given a cross-section.  He, too, switches from double-page pictures to two horizontal panels, top and bottom with text in the middle to emphasize the narrative.  Or perhaps, a single-page illustration might better serve the text.

One of my many favorite illustrations is the double-page picture of a close-up of ants at work.  A pale green background highlights a row of bright flowers and mushrooms stretching from left to right.  Short grass grows along the top of the ground.  Along the bottom, Chris Sasaki gives us an underground view of the roots.  On the right he brings us close to an ant hill with ants carrying dirt up the slope and down into the ground.  We are also shown a cutaway of the ant hill.

Readers will find themselves pausing either for the interesting information or eye-catching images or for both as they read Animal Architects written by Amy Cherrix with illustrations by Chris Sasaki.  At the close of the book is a list of selected sources, books and other media.  You'll want to add this title to both your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Amy Cherrix and Chris Sasaki and their other work, please access their websites by following the link attached to their names.  Amy Cherrix has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Chris Sasaki has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images and the complete jacket and case.

Repose

There comes a time when all living things need to seek stillness.  For many, daily rest is required.  For others, their slumber is on a seasonal cycle.  It seems we humans, whose lives seem increasingly at a frantic pace, would do well to take note of the natural world around us.  Our overall physical and mental health is directly related to how well we sleep when we sleep.

Two recent publications address regular repose, daily and seasonal.  In the first, Sleep: How Nature Gets Its Rest (Candlewick Press, September 10, 2019) written and illustrated by Kate Prendergast, readers visit a variety of animals in different habitats as they snooze.  These animals are both domestic and wild.

Cats and dogs sleep curled up . . .

when they aren't playing.

On the farm each animal can be found nestled and napping in their favorite sanctuary, a pond, a henhouse, a field or a barn.  As we move out into the wild, a harvest mouse is seen curled within a nest.  Snails seek shelter in their shells as do tortoises.

Did you know giraffes sleep while standing?  Can you name two animals that sleep upside down?  One of them is a winged mammal that sleeps during daylight and roams about at night.  Guess who never closes their eyes when they sleep?  There is a specific animal when in a group is called a mob and they

sleep in a heap.

One of the most fearsome animals sleeps as one.  Another animal prefers to snooze in the heat of the day.  Others have no choice but to pause in the bitter cold.  Did you know ants only sleep briefly?  After we see fourteen animals resting, a final question is asked.  Scientists have been searching for an answer for years.


With simple statements author Kate Prendergast brings us into the collected animals' worlds.  By stating where animals sleep, she invites readers near those habitats to look for those animals as they rest.  She reveals, as a result of her research, particulars readers will find fascinating. Her inclusion of animals from around the world is a huge plus enticing readers to do further exploration.


The illustrations in this book as first seen on the open and matching dust jacket and book case are rendered in mixed media.  The textured effect depicted on each image will have readers reaching to touch the pages.  The portrait of the sleeping tiger on the front is exquisite.  The word Sleep on the jacket is varnished.  To the left, on the back, on a rich midnight blue is a circle of pale yellow.  Within this circle on a colorful rag rug sleeps a dog and cat curled together. 

The opening and closing endpapers are a vivid orange, perhaps taken from some of the highlights in the tiger's fur.  Opposite the dedication and verso page, a mother bear and her cub form a circle as they hibernate in their cave.  This illustration is between the text on the title page. 

Throughout the book on white, heavy, matte-finished paper, the pictures supply a focus on the animals.  Other animals can be found in the illustrations; frogs at the pond with the geese, butterflies on flowers near the horses, a ladybug scaling a blade of grass near the harvest mouse and a beetle scampering away from the pile of meerkats.  The visuals may be on a single page or across two pages.  The attention to detail is marvelous.

One of my many, many favorite pictures is on a single page but the background colors of yellow-green and shades of purple cross the gutter to become part of the next image.  The picture of the giraffe is stunning.  What we see reaching from the top of the page is a portion of the neck and bowed head of the giraffe.  We also see four legs from above the knees, down to the hooves, near the head.  This is a wonderful perspective.


This book, Sleep: How Nature Gets Its Rest written and illustrated by Kate Prendergast, is ideal for promoting discussions on rest in the animal world, to inspire further research and to supply a sense of stillness.  At the close of the book are framed paragraphs with illustrations of more facts about each animal.  A list of resources is on the final page.  You'll want to include this title in your personal and professional collections.  I can't wait to use it in a storytime.

To discover more about Kate Prendergast and her other work, please visit her website by following the link attached to her name.  Kate has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  At Candlewick Press and Penguin Random House you can view interior images.



A pairing of stunning photographs with a rhythmic narrative gives readers an intimate look at the wonders of nature.  This second title, Wait, Rest, Pause: Dormancy In Nature written by Marcie Flinchum Atkins will have individual readers pausing at page turns and listeners gasping at what they see as they move closer to the reader.  After generations of adapting, plants and animals know how survive in the harshest of conditions as seasons and weather change.

If you were dormant, you would pause---
                 WAITING,
                       RESTING,
                           HUDDLING,
                                  CURLING,
                                          NAPPING.

For a tree dormancy looks different from animals.  A sugary substance runs through its branches and truck.  This keeps it safe from the cold just as the tiniest of leaves wrap around buds. Spring releases the sugary substance and tiniest of leaves, so new life begins.

Ladybugs get plumper and gather together when they sleep during winter.  This is how they stave off the chilly temperatures.  At the arrival of spring, they spread out and feast.

An Arctic ground squirrel stays curled in a ball resting away from the ice and snow, but you won't believe what it does to warm up after several weeks.  When the temperature rises outside, the Arctic ground squirrel is ready to romp and eat.

Chickadees are a common sight in northern Michigan (and other areas) every month of the year, but they have their own survival tactics.  For hours at night they pause, slowing their heart rate.  As the sun rises the next morning, you can hear them singing again.

For alligators, mud is like a blanket when cold descends. When heat chases away the cold, they creep outside to look for a tasty treat.  You might be able to guess where earthworms go when there is a drought, but you might not know how they protect themselves.  In all these examples, the opposite of what causes plants and animals to become dormant delivers them to continue or start anew.


The use of language by Marcie Flinchum Atkins in this title is spectacular.  A series of verbs describe the pause of the tree and the other animals.  (The repetition of words provides a cadence for each dormancy.)  We are then informed how those descriptions are accomplished.  The pacing is perfection because we are nearly holding our breaths as the next page is turned.  You can actually feel the joy associated with the arrival of spring, warmth or rain.  She makes the reading experience more intimate for each of us by placing us in the position of whatever being she is featuring.  Here is a passage.

If you were a dormant ladybug,
you would . . .
       FATTEN UP,
            PILE UP,
                STIFFEN UP.
You would swarm into a ladybug pile,
sharing warmth together.

You would pause. 


On the final page of the book, Marcie Flinchum Atkins gives credit to the photographers/photographs selected for this title.  They are full-page pictures, full-page pictures crossing the gutter, smaller framed pictures and one glorious double-page image.  The borders and placement of the photographs supply space for the text.  At times the text is placed within an image.

We are shown close-ups as on the front and back of the matching dust jacket and book case.  Those ladybugs look as if they are coated in sugar.  To the left, on the back, a chickadee rests on a cattail stalk, head bowed and eyes closed.  Then, as on the title page, we are shown a vast view of trees in a field coated in snow like frosting.  A  lush dark blue covers the opening and closing endpapers.  Each illustration is a beautiful match for the narrative.

One of my many, many favorite photographs is a close-up of another chickadee.  A branch arcs in a soft curve from another branch on the far right.  In the center of that curve, sleeps a chickadee. Its tiny feet grasp the branch.  Its head is bowed low and toward its feet.  The background is blurred.  This is a single-page picture.


No matter how many times you read this book, you will be awed by the resiliency of plants and animals to endure the elements of nature.  Wait, Rest, Pause: Dormancy In Nature written by Marcie Flinchum Atkins is a meticulously researched volume but also a tribute to those sharing this planet with us.  At the close of the book Dormancy Differences defines six kinds.  There is a list of books for more reading and a list of websites.  No personal or professional collection is complete without this title.

By following the link attached to Marcie Flinchum Atkins's name you can access her website to learn more about her and her other work.  Marcie Flinchum Atkins has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  I believe you'll enjoy this interview with Marcie Flinchum Atkins at The Lerner Blog.  Marcie Flinchum Atkins is also interviewed at Notable 19s and KidLit411.


Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by Alyson Beecher to view the other titles selected this week by those people participantig in the 2019 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Whatever. Together. Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers Blog Tour

Have you ever felt like your best assets were ignored or abhorred?  Have you consistently been the weak link in a chain?  I think you know where this line of thinking is going.  Some individuals are teased and then believe if, as the saying goes, someone looked up the word dud in the dictionary, their name and picture would be listed.

What no one tells them is the very qualities others find to be lacking are strengths.  These traits will keep them resilient in the face of future adversity.  Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers: Celebrating Animal Underdogs (Peachtree Publishers, September 1, 2018) written by Melissa Stewart with illustrations by Stephanie Laberis is a book championing characteristics regularly undervalued.

Everyone loves elephants.  They're so big and strong.
Everyone respects cheetahs.  They're so fast and fierce.
But this book isn't about animals we admire.

This book is singing the praises of another kind of animal.  This book has us cheering for the Etruscan pygmy shrew and Amau frog.  They are tiny, pinkie-fingernail tiny.  How does this size help them?  They can hide where their enemies cannot go.  The Galapagos tortoise has no need for speed.  Do you know why?

Stepping in a cow pie (manure) once is more than enough.  It's as if the smell is stuck to your nose hairs for days.  There are actually two animals that smell worse.  Yes, this is true.  These two odoriferous creatures cause predators to become ill or run away lickety-split.

Being shy is a silent way to blend into the surrounding flora.  Ask the okapi how this helps.  Sometimes we think of sleepyheads as having a lack of incentive but in reality these animals are storing up energy.  A little bit of food goes a long way with them.

Being clumsy is not necessarily a disadvantage, speed can cause a fall but it does produce a feast more often.  Go western fence lizard, go.  The blubber found on walruses, seals and sea lions is not an anti-beauty statement but a protective key to survival.  Finally the attributes of an underground critter definitely rank them low on the cuddly scale but they are a marvel of adaptation. In the words of the author

Underdogs Unite!

As a meticulous researcher Melissa Stewart brings a respected authenticity to everything she writes.  In this title her easy conversational style replete with captivating facts and the use of alliteration generates a desire in the reader to keep turning the pages . . . as quickly as possible.  As humans we find ourselves amazed by these animals' unique traits and seeing singular characteristics at the same time in us.  We identify with these underdogs.  Melissa also asks readers questions which welcome us as participants in this title.  Here is a passage.

In winter, a walrus's thick layer of fat can weigh more than 400 pounds.  Seals and sea lions fatten up too.  What a bunch of blubbery blobs!  Think these plump lumps should go on a diet? 


You can't help but smile when looking at the opened and matching dust jacket and book case for this title.  Surely humor resonates from the animals' body postures and facial expressions.  There is a funky smell in the air as depicted by the green swirls.

To the left, on the back, the same animals are shown in their same positions but from the back.  The little bat is there too.  What is different is the ISBN.  In a brilliant design moment two naked mole rats are carrying the bars to and from the barcode.  I love this! The opening and closing endpapers are colored in a dark teal to match the color of the title text.  Several of the same creatures are featured on the title page, much smaller and positioned differently.

Rendered in Adobe Photoshop these illustrations by Stephanie Laberis are realistic but also portray her own special brand of animation and humor. Many of the critters are displayed in their habitats but for emphasis they are sometimes taken out of that realm and put in our world. Stephanie does not gloss over the very true-to-life battle for survival.  The Etruscan pygmy shrew and Amau hiding from a bird and snake respectively are frightening situations for them.  When she represents the effect of the hoatzin and zorilla, I know readers will laugh out loud.

Her images spread across two pages, single pages, and may be grouped together as smaller insets.  One of my many favorite illustrations is the double-page picture of the walruses.  The background is a blend of blue-gray rounded clouds.  Snow rests on the icy landscape and on the walruses.  On the left one walrus nearly fills the page, looking directly at the reader.  His expression is priceless.  To his right, across the gutter and on the right side a group of walruses are huddled together on the edge of the ice.  Water is placed in the lower, right-hand corner.


There is much to appreciate and enjoy about Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers: Celebrating Animal Underdogs written by Melissa Stewart with illustrations by Stephanie Laberis.  Readers will come to view the parallels between the lives of these creatures and the bullying seen in human situations.  At the close of the book two pages are dedicated to more information about the animals in this book along with thumbnails images.  Selected sources and important dedications by the author and illustrator appear on the final page.  I highly recommend this book for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Melissa Stewart and Stephanie Laberis and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites. Melissa also has a blog.  Both Melissa and Stephanie maintain accounts on Twitter.  Stephanie has an Instagram account.  At the publisher's website are a teacher's guide, a reader's theater and animals stats and a map.  At educator Alyson Beecher's blog, Kid Lit Frenzy, the cover was revealed.  Melissa wrote a guest post about expository literature at School Library Journal and new sources for teaching nonfiction at the Nerdy Book Club.  Melissa is interviewed at For the Love of KidLit.  The book trailer was premiered at Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries, John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read.

As part of the blog tour both Melissa Stewart and Stephanie Laberis are answering a few questions.  And here they are!

Thank you Melissa for graciously agreeing to answer a couple of questions about your latest title, Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers: Celebrating Animal Underdogs.  I view all your writing with great respect and your dedication to science and nonfiction is wonderful for all of us.

After I read this book, in addition to the animals it features, I started to think how humans, children and students, could benefit from this way of viewing themselves.  Then I went to the back of the book and saw your dedication.

For any child who is being bullied right now---
what others see as a weakness may actually be your strength.

Don’t give up.

Was this the initial reason for writing this book?  Was there a specific incident which sparked the writing of this book?

Throughout the 2018-2019 school year, the Monday posts on my blog, Celebrate Science, will be entitled “Nonfiction Authors Dig Deep,” and each week, a different highly regarded nonfiction author will contribute. You can look forward to posts from Barb Rosenstock, Sarah Albee, Candace Fleming, and many, many more. Thirty-three in all. I was gobsmacked by the generosity of my colleagues and their enthusiasm for this project.

You see, writing nonfiction isn’t just cobbling together a bunch of facts. Every book we write contains a little piece of us. The topics we choose and the approaches we take, are strongly influenced by who we are as people—our personalities, our beliefs, our experiences in the world.

One of the experiences I endured as a child was bullying. From fourth grade to eighth grade it was a constant part of my life, and, in some ways, it shaped the person I am today. For example, it made me resilient enough to keep writing despite receiving about a zillion rejections from editors in the last 20 years. Okay, maybe not quite a zillion. But, trust me, it’s a big number.

Who knows . . . if I hadn’t been bullied, maybe I wouldn’t be writing today. I might have given up a long time ago.

When I decided to start researching animal superlatives (biggest, strongest, fastest) a few years ago, I found myself connecting with the anti-superlative animals (smallest, slowest, shyest, clumsiest,—even stinky-est). One morning, I woke up with the beginning of the book in my head, and I knew I was on to something.

Writing this book meant revisiting a painful part of my past, but it has already also allowed me to connect with educators who have previewed it in truly special ways. All my books are about
science ideas that I’m passionate about, but this book is also about offering hope to kids who really need it. 

Why did you focus on these eight special characteristics?  How did you choose the animals to represent these characteristics?

I’m so glad you asked this question, Margie, because it gives me a chance to geek out about nonfiction text structure—one of my favorite topics.

Like many of my books (and STEM-themed nonfiction picture books by other writers),
Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers: Celebrating Animal Underdogs is a concept book with a compare and contrast text structure. There is a main idea—surprising adaptations (body features and/or behaviors) can help animals survive—and then lots of examples. Some people call this a list book, and fact-loving kids adore them.

It might seem like the order of the animals in the book is random, but it’s not. And one day, when I’m in the middle of a school visit program, a child who hardly ever seems engaged in school will shock teachers by suddenly raising his/her hand and excitedly pointing out the pattern to me—a pattern that most other people never notice.

That’s the child I write for because he or she is an analytical thinker, a budding scientist or engineer who needs all the encouragement I can possibly provide. Info-kids don’t connect to narratives the way many teachers think they should, but they love expository literature.

So what’s the pattern in Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers? Actually, it’s multi-layered.

As you mentioned, there are eight characteristics featured in the book.

First layer: The number of pages devoted to each one alternates. Two spreads, one spread, two spreads, one spread, etc.

Second layer: The first four characteristics focus on adaptations that help animals stay safe, while the second four characteristics highlight adaptations for getting food or conserving energy, so less food is needed.

Here’s the chart I made to keep myself on track as I was revising.

In some ways, the structure grew out of the animal examples I had to choose from, but in other ways, the structure determined the animals I selected. There was a lot of back and forth to create a book that includes great examples AND has a great pattern. It’s important to have both because even if readers don’t recognize the pattern, they feel it. It affects the pacing and the page turns, so it’s critical to the experience of reading the book.

Thank you Melissa! 

I am so happy to have you here today Stephanie.  I thank you for taking time away from your work to chat with us.

Thank you so much! It’s a pleasure & an honor to speak with you!

When you plan for creating images for a title how does your process begin before you go to Adobe Photoshop?  Do you design a layout?  Do you complete sketches?  Do you do research first?

I always start with photo reference. No matter how stylized my work will be, I make sure that I have lots of photo reference to work from. You have to know the rules to be able to break them, as they say, and the better an understanding I have of an animal’s anatomy, the better decisions I can make about which forms to exaggerate for the sake of expression, while keeping these distortions believable. Sometimes I will read articles about a particular animal to better understand their habitat, what critters might coexist with them, or to learn some interesting habits they might have. It helps to create a more compelling illustration & to build off of the author’s text.

After I have my reference, I do very rough thumbnails, keeping things loose. This is how I figure out compositions & solve the bigger problems in layout. After that, I do a rough layout in Photoshop, using the page template of the book to figure out text layout & to make sure nothing important is lost in the gutter.

After the roughs are approved, I work directly from the rough file in Photoshop to bring the spread to full color. It makes my workflow much more smooth & fast to work this way.

If someone looks at the body of your work in children’s literature, it appears you enjoy illustrating animals more than any other subject? Why is this?  

It’s true, I love drawing animals! I think there a couple of reasons for this, the simplest one being that I don’t enjoy drawing humans as much as animals, haha! Beyond that, I was always into animals, even as a kid. I had a variety of pets growing up, such as dogs, gerbils, anoles, fish & rats, & I was always very interested in nature documentaries (and still am!) I even considered pursuing a career in biology or veterinary sciences at one point. I feel as though I have hit a good balance at this point with my artwork, in that I can still be immersed in the animal world, even focusing on more scientific elements, while being expressive & creative at the same time.

And if I can sneak in one more question . . . there is a good deal of humor in your illustrations for this book. Why?    

That’s a great question! I think mostly it’s because humor is FUN to illustrate! I LOVE pushing poses, facial expressions & actions as far as I can! Even when I do nonfiction works, I try my best to keep some elements of humor or push the expressions in my animals as much as I can, because really, animals in their most basic environment have these sorts of funny mannerisms. I think the fact that I am also an avid animation fan contributes to this - I loved The Lion King as a kid & really loved the balance of animals still running around on all fours, but having human-like mannerisms & expressions, including humor.

Thank you Stephanie!

Insider Secrets

Last night the first big storm of the season left behind five inches of snow.  Looking up from shoveling my driveway as the sun was starting to set; I noticed two deer quietly walking down the sidewalk across the street, a doe and an eight-point buck.  We watched each other for several minutes as I moved in rows back and forth tossing snow.

In mere seconds on a turn around I was startled to see they had gone.  They had vanished without a sound.  Not for the first time I wondered about the ability to accomplish something marvelous demonstrated in the animal world.  In a title recently named to the Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12:2016 (Books published in 2015) the wife and husband collaborative team of Robin Page and Steve Jenkins reveal fascinating instructions.  How To Swallow A Pig: Step-By-Step Advice From The Animal Kingdom (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, September 1, 2015) will increase your admiration and respect for these creatures.

So you want to learn how to swallow a pig.  You've come to the right place.  

If you want to ease into this particular bit of knowledge, it is suggested to start out slowly with the less dramatic tricks of the trade.  Seventeen unique techniques are disclosed before the final eighteenth feat.

Teamwork among blue whales, circular swimming and blowing of bubbles, makes for a tasty meal.  An aptly named tailorbird uses creative stitching skills to shape a nest.  You'll look at millipedes differently with the new awareness of their value in the insect-plentiful rainforest.  Although the capuchin monkeys approach might make you utter the word gross.

Bighorn sheep teach us how to woo, crows cleverly crack nuts and beavers engineer a new pond.  Diving into the depths we witness the masquerade of the octopus.  Legs, a beak and spread wings define the hunting prowess of the reddish egret.  Paper manufacturer, mathematical genius, and umbrella engineer might be words used to describe the nesting building skills of a paper wasp.

Do you know why a barn spider spins the same web twice?  Do you know how bowerbirds work like interior designers?  Do you know why velvet monkeys have more than one alarm call?  Do you know why leaf-cutter ants leave a chemical trail?

Camouflage like a member of the tree family if you want to snatch dinner from the water like a crocodile.  Never settle for only one line of defense if you want to survive like an armadillo.  If pit digging is your style follow the lead of an ant lion.

The western grebe could teach contestants on Dancing with the Stars a move or two.  You most definitely won't want to engage in a hugging competition with a python.  Nothing compares to learning from members of the animal community.


For each creature Robin Page and Steve Jenkins use the repetitive words

How to ...
like a ...

This is followed by a captivating descriptive paragraph inviting the readers, if they desire, to follow their numbered steps to accomplish the same results as the mentioned animal.  The matter-of-fact conversational suggestions will have you believing you might blow a bubble net, smash heads with a rival or enjoy a

fungus feast.

Here are some excerpts from the

How to
Spin a Web
Like a Spider

...Before you start, however, you'll need to find a protected place to build your web, and---this is the tricky part---you'll have to learn how to spin silk threads.

1 Cast a line.
Once you've found the right spot, cast a single silk thread into the air.  If you're lucky, the breeze will catch it and it will snag on a nearby branch or other object.
2 Make a loop.
Walk across the first thread and spin another that droops to form a U.


The python coiled around the title, author and illustrator text on the front of the matching dust jacket and book case is stunning.  The placement of the tail and head and using the patterned skin as a frame is a truly eye-catching design.  On the back, to the left, on a background of the same rusty red as found on the front are six white circles.  Each features a portion of a different illustration from the interior.  The title font hue covers the opening and closing endpapers.  On the title page the image from the front jacket and case is repeated with a noticeable change.  All that remains of the python is an "s" portion of the tail.  The reptile is on the move.

White space showcases the torn-and-cut-paper collage art of Steve Jenkins.  The tiny details and the play of light and shadow creating life-like eyes are astounding.  The set of instructions may be placed on a single page or span two pages.  For each number a separate image is shown.

One of my favorite series of illustrations is for the tailorbird.  As the bird selects a leaf we see him on a branch coming from the top of a page.  Then it has moved to work the two edges of the leaf together with spider silk.  As the holes are poked in the leaf edges and found material is used to sew them together the angle of the pictures changes.  The final visual is larger as the tailorbird flies gathering soft items to line the nest.


It's understandable in addition to being on the Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12:2016 (Books published in 2015), How To Swallow A Pig: Step-by-Step Advice From The Animal Kingdom written and illustrated by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page is also one of the Commended Books on the 2016 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize Finalists list.  At the close of the book several pages highlight more facts about each of the animals.  There is also a short bibliography.

If you desire to learn more about Robin Page and Steve Jenkins please visit their website by following the link attached to the first name.  Attached to the second name are pages dedicated to the making of this book. Don't miss the book, reading it aloud or chatting about the information found at their website.

Please stop by Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by Alyson Beecher to see the other titles selected by bloggers this week who are participating in the 2015 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Boisterous Abodes

It snowed last night.  It's April not November so the local flora and fauna are in a bit of shock.  Early this morning the robins were in a vocal tizzy, probably calling for a riot against Mother Nature.  It's easy to imagine those coming forth from winter homes snuggling back in for a few more weeks.  Those intent on the arrival of spring babies are renewing efforts to make proper residences.

On this Earth Day 2015 I am happy to celebrate the fifth book in a series by author Dianna Hutts Aston with illustrations by Sylvia Long.  Their last collaboration, A Rock Is Lively, left readers ready for more of their outstanding observations about our world.  A Nest Is Noisy (Chronicle Books, April 14, 2015) is a fascinating examination of spaces made for newborns.

A nest is noisy.
It is a nursery of chirp-chirping...
buzzing...
squeaking...
peep-peeping...
bubbling babies.

A beginning speaks of how bird nests are constructed but also points out orangutans build similar structures high in rain forest tree tops.  It's comforting to know leaves are used to provide a rain-proof roof.  Comparisons are made in size; the largest at three feet long and up to sixteen feet high of a dusky scrubfowl and the smallest nest of a bee hummingbird.  Two inches is tiny.

Nests can be constructed within cactus for protection, of wood fibers chewed to make paste and of pebbles on a streambed.  The ingenuity of a foamy nest in trees and a nest formed of bubbles on water, each lasting only long enough to protect the eggs and babies, is completely captivating.  Heat figures in the formation of some nests acting as a kiln.  In others the temperature causes the babies to be either male or female.

Not all nests are above ground.  Some are tucked into the sand on beaches, tunneled along streams or burrowed into desert meadows.  Bivouacs are living nests created by the insects themselves; they, millions of them, are the nest.  Those army ants know how to work as a team.

Birds known for their pink feathers and long legs lay only one egg.  It is placed on top of a mound of mud, grass and stones. Another brave bird, the buff-breasted paradise kingfisher, is willing to sacrifice its life, to break a hole in a termite nest so eggs can be laid in a created tunnel. Whether it's noisy or quiet, large or small, sharp, soft or hard, squishy or crumbly, warm or hot, hanging, above or below ground or silent, these nests are a testament to the marvelous adaptability within the animal kingdom.


With the skill of a naturalist and poet, Dianna Hutts Aston takes readers on a tour around the world giving us a peek at animal parenthood.  Each statement of a nest is presents readers with supporting information in detail.  Aston, through research, is able to provide those captivating details which enlarge our respect for those beings inhabiting our planet.  They, by instinct and resourcefulness, create the best possible place for their young.  Here is another sample selection.

Cave swiftlets concoct a nest made entirely of saliva.  Swinging its head from side to side, the male spits long, pearly strands onto the wall of a cave that harden into a lacy bowl when exposed to air. ...


The intricate full-color pictures rendered in watercolor by Sylvia Long are breathtaking.  When you open the matching dust jacket and book case the illustration spans to the left; the back including the nest of a bald-faced hornet at the top, a black-tailed prairie dog, tunneled underground, in the center and an American alligator at the bottom.  The details on the leaves, flowers, branches, and animals are nearly photographic but softened by the medium.  The opening and closing endpapers are a close-up of a bird's nest, woven materials swirling and intertwined.

On the next set of two pages, Long pictures twenty-four nests on a crisp white canvas, which is used splendidly throughout the book with most of her images. (Prior to the closing endpapers we see the twenty-four animals which left those nests showcased on two pages.)  The verso and title page feature the tree and top of an orangutan nest.  All of the following visuals are either edge to edge on two pages or a masterful blend of one page into another.  Each nest displayed is flawlessly connected to the next.  We are up-close and personal with these illustrations.  All of the text is hand-lettered labeling each nest and inhabitants.

One of my favorite pictures is after the title page. The background is a pale golden yellow.  A moss-covered branch extends from the left across the gutter.  In the center on the right is the nest of a ruby-throated hummingbird.  Two babies with beaks open are waiting for the adult to place a bug in their mouths.  Leaves and vines of a trumpet flower are placed in the upper right-hand corner and along the left side.


This newest volume, A Nest Is Noisy, in a stunning series written by Dianna Hutts Aston with illustrations by Sylvia Long is a must-have for your personal and professional shelves.  It's a tribute to the creativity and cleverness of our animal partners.  Readers of all ages will leave a reading of this title enlightened in the best possible way.

Please take a moment to learn more about Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long when visiting their websites by following the links attached to their names.  The publisher has provided a teacher's guide.


I am happy to participate in the 2015 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge each week at Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher.  Please stop by to read about the other featured titles.