Abhorrent Animals Endure

When you are out and about in the wild and come upon something out of the ordinary with a high ick factor, you usually tend to give it a wide berth.  You avoid it not only because of its physical appearance but these characteristics are likely to be a danger signal.  This is one of those win-win situations.  Both you and the critter are spared any adverse results.

If you know why this particular creature looks as they do, there's a chance you will find them fascinating.  Gross As A Snot Otter: Discovering the World's Most Disgusting Animals (The World Of Weird Animals) (Alfred A. Knopf, October 29, 2019) written by Jess Keating with illustrations by David DeGrand is the fourth title in this series penned and pictured by this talented team.  It explores seventeen animals with less than appealing exterior features.

Disgusting. Vile.

Repugnant. GROSS.

Gross animals are everywhere, but there's more

to these creatures than just "Eww!" and "Yuck!"

Turn the page, but be

warned, this book is not

for the squeamish . . .

As we meet the title animal, we realize their outer body is coated in mucus.  This mucus protects them on multiple levels.  The weird fact is they use their lungs to control how they float, and their skin is the source of the majority of their oxygen.

Try not to be shocked by the knowledge that zombie worms love to eat whale bones AND the males live inside the female bodies.  If you live in the area where a dumpy tree frog resides you might be checking the rim of your toilet bowl.  They enjoy hanging out there.  For all you giraffe fans, try not being appalled by the behavior of male giraffes when testing the readiness of a female to mate.  (Although on a purely scientific level, it's pure genius.)

It's guaranteed you'll never look at those cute little forest friends the same way again after reading about the Siberian chipmunk.  If you think your canine companion rolls in disgusting stuff, these critters take it to a whole new level.  Did you know hagfish slime is brimming with protein?  Do you know what scientists are thinking of doing with that slime?  

The next time or perhaps the first time you lounge on the sandy beach along the Caribbean, remember it might be composed of parrotfish poop.  Wow! The wingspan of the marabou stork is twelve feet.  Their bald heads are perfect for circumventing a mess as they dive into a carrion snack.

You won't believe where the babies of a Surinam toad reside until they are tiny toadlets.  Let's just say it's "handy" for them.  The next time someone farts I believe they will think of herring known to swim in groups but also to communicate with flatulence.  Just in case the previous details of truth here are not gross enough, think about the final animal showcased.  The sea cucumber can expel its guts; out the front or out the back of its body.  It's mind-boggling to learn they can regrow what they've lost.  Yes, these beings are repulsive, but they are a part of an ecological balance and we are essential to their existence.  We are a team and winning equals life for all.

When it comes to searching for the most captivating facts about animals and writing a narrative to expose that information for readers, Jess Keating is a master.  Jess Keating combines truth, wit and literary techniques like alliteration.  Take for example, the first sentence in her first entry.  

If you're disgusting and you know it, hide under a rock!

In this statement a musical lyric is fractured to share knowledge.  Word play is used to introduce extra information in the second paragraph.  Titles like 

Miraculous Maggots?, Pee Break!, Super Slime or Bubbles or Boogers?

are certain to capture readers' attention.  Here are two partial passages for the marabou stork.

MARABOU STORK legs are gray-brown, so why do they typically look white?  The white color is due to what scientists call whitewash, which is a fancy way of saying that this stork poops on its own legs!

The Bad and the Beautiful

Many birds have beautifully colored feathers on their heads, but marabou storks have no room for such decor.  This bird's bald head isn't just striking, it's downright practical.

Jess Keating continues to educate us by providing a column on the right of each entry which includes the animal's name, species name, size, diet, habitat, and predators and threats.  Any time a word is shown which readers might not have previously seen or is important to the text, it is made bold.

When readers look at the open and matching dust jacket and book case, they are well aware, even if this is the first book in this series they are reading, this is an extraordinary book.  This is a book focused on the topic presenting a combination of real photographs and comedic cartoons drawn by David DeGrand.  To the left, on the back, under these words:

It's not easy being GROSS.

You have to work pretty hard to be this revolting.

three animals are showcased.  One is covered in goo, the other is vomiting and the third one is slobbering as it chews thorny acacia leaves.

On the left side of each animal's discussion is a photograph outlined loosely with a wavy frame.  Opposite this, on the right are the three areas of text.  Accompanying the text is a humorous drawing by David DeGrand which draws our attention to a specific detail.  Male zombie worms are shown ready to move inside a female in a homey setting with a doorway, a picture on the wall and windows.  A dumpy tree frog, that mainly resides in Australia, is portrayed climbing from a toilet bowl and exclaiming Crikey!  

One of my favorite pictures highlights the parrotfish.  It is pooping out what will be white sand on a Caribbean beach.  In its front fins it holds a newspaper titled The Fishington Post.  The expression on its face is a blend of concern and contentment.

No one but Jess Keating and David DeGrand could make repulsive animals as engaging as this team does in the fourth book in the series, Gross As A Snot Otter: Discovering the World's Most Disgusting Animals (The World of Weird Animals).  This book, like the previous titles, can be read in a single sitting in entertaining gulps or as an animal a day.  At the close of the book Jess Keating discusses more about what the term disgusting means and how it is interpreted.  This is followed by 

Say What?!  A Glossary of Useful Words.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.  With the holiday season approaching this would make for a wonderful present, as would the other books in the series.

To learn more about Jess Keating and David DeGrand and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their respective websites.  Jess's website is a goldmine of resources.  Jess Keating has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  David DeGrand has accounts on Instagram and Twitter.  The cover reveal for this book is found at Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries, John Schumacher's site, Watch. Connect. Read.  It's a super post about cover design and the decisions made by all participants.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.  For links about the previous three titles and a book trailer premiere at this blog, follow this link.

To view the titles selected this week by other participant in the 2019 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge, visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator, Alyson Beecher.

It's Back To The World Of Weird Animals With Cute As An Axolotl Book Trailer Premiere

When you hold a book authored by zoologist Jess Keating in your hands you know you will find yourself fascinated by facts about our animal world as well as being entertained with her approach and insights.  She has partnered with illustrator David DeGrand, who must have a special blend of humor humming through his veins, in two titles in The World Of Weird Animals series, Pink Is For Blobfish: Discovering the World's Perfectly Pink Animals (Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, February 2, 2016) and What Makes A Monster?: Discovering the World's Scariest Creatures (Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, August 8, 2017). The duo is collaborating on a third book, Cut As An Axolotl: Discovering the World’s Most Adorable Animals (Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books).  It is set to be released on August 28, 2018).

This third title features creatures, like the previous two, from all parts of the world.  We journey from Lake Xochimilco, near Mexico City to Western Australian Rottnest Island and Bad Island, to the deciduous forests of North America and to the forests of northern Japan.  These seventeen critters will have your cute meter exploding with preciousness. AND the book trailer premiere is happening here TODAY!

When reading these titles aloud or booktalking them to an individual or a group, readers crave information about the author and her process.  I am happy to have author Jess Keating visiting Librarian’s Quest in celebration of this third book.   Let’s see what she has to tell us.

Hi, Margie! Thank you so much for having me, and for debuting this trailer!

In your first two books, Jess, you focused on color and then on creepiness.  Now you are wowing us with cute. How did you decide on those topics and this third subject?

From the beginning, it was important to me that these books were about more than animals. I’ve always been interested in the relationships between humans and animals, as I think it’s an often overlooked factor in conservation and getting people educated about the natural world. I wanted to use this series as a chance to explore these creatures, but also create an opportunity for readers to shine a light on their biases, prejudices, and judgements. I chose the color pink in Pink is for Blobfish, because it’s such a gendered concept, and conversations about gender expectations are always timely. The second book, What Makes a Monster, focuses on what scares us. Oftentimes, if we don’t understand something, we immediately fear it, so my hope was to gently introduce the possibility that we need not fear something just because it’s different from us. (This doesn’t just apply to wild animals, as we know!)

With Cute as an Axolotl, I turned to appearances. People are very good at compartmentalizing and pigeon-holing. Sometimes it serves us, but often, we miss out on a lot. Cuteness is such a great example of this, because we see very obvious examples in our daily lives: attractiveness and cuteness is everywhere. I want readers to take a look beyond the ‘cute’ and realize that labels like this can miss the bigger picture. This is important from a logical, conservation standpoint, as studies have shown that ‘cuter’ animals get more conservation funding and attention. But I also think that, to be good humans, we need to look beyond appearances across the board.

So, to sum up (this very long answer!) I look for two things when choosing a theme: 1) will this theme explore enough biodiversity to get kids falling in love with nature? And 2) Does this theme bring something human to the conversation?

If I can accomplish both of those things, I’ll move onto the research phase!

Your format is both conversational and factual, Jess.  You peak our interest with several engaging paragraphs as if we are speaking face to face and then you have a more scientific sidebar.  What prompted you to choose this format?

I’m so glad you enjoy this element of the books—thank you! As far as the tone goes, my natural writing voice is very conversational, goofy, and casual. It’s always how I prefer to talk about science, because some people can still be very intimidated by complicated subjects and I never want to scare anyone off. In fact, when I was in grad school, I was asked several times to “tone down the voice” in my academic papers. That’s a big reason I’m an author today! My goal with the tone and voice of these books is to allow the real fun of science to shine through a bit: at its heart, science is just the act of being incredibly curious about cool stuff.

It was also important to me to include the sidebars you mention. I’ve chatted about this before and readers can check out this link http://celebratescience.blogspot.ca/2017/11/the-overlooked-benefits-of-expository.html for more!) I think the value of the expository layouts is really underestimated, especially for kids. Some kids prefer narrative, but a great deal of them prefer to get the facts laid out in a simple format like this. I have my theories about why, but in general, there is a power to having the facts. As a kid, these “sidebar” type facts opened up ways for me to interact with others. I also think it’s important to remind kids that truth, at its core, is enough. It’s a solid thing that they can lean on, and that sort of knowledge can give confidence. It’s so much more than a sidebar to me—it’s a hug to all those fact-loving kids!

You always manage to select animals that are simply amazing?  How do you choose which creatures to include? Could you tell us a little bit about your research process?

This is the difficult part! For each book, I only have space for 17 animals. And for each book so far, the original list of animals I want to include has about 50 species on it. That’s a lot of cutting! I’ve heard fiction authors say they must kill their darlings, but nonfiction authors do as well, and in my case, I often feel guilty on behalf of the poor animals that don’t make the cut!   
When I begin the research for each book, I’ve already got a list in my head of animals that I want to include. Most of these animals were already on my radar previously, from various points in my life as a zoologist and general animal lover. When narrowing down, my aim is to ensure that there’s a great range of biodiversity, pulling from each vertebrate class of animals to start, then peppering in some invertebrate weirdoes as much as I can.

An animal gets cut if it’s too similar to another, and when given the choice of covering a familiar animal versus a more obscure one, I will always choose the obscure one! I also take each animal and create a list of the absolute coolest, most mind-blowing facts I can find. The final step of deciding who is included is taking a broad view of the material, and puzzling together a combination that allows me to balance the most awesome information, the most diversity in species, and the most variety in physical “coolness”. (For example, I’d love to do an entire book about moss animals, but that wouldn’t have the visual appeal needed for this series!)

All in all, it’s a very logical process, but I tend to handle it intuitively. Some animals demand to be included, no matter what arguments I can make to cut them! Others are quieter, but I know they will become favorites for readers if given the chance to shine.

In each of the books as well as this newest one, you extend the premise of the book by asking readers to think beyond the information included in the narrative.  This time you challenge us to ponder the definition of cute. You follow this with many questions for readers and even ask them to make a drawing. I have an idea why you do this Jess, but would you tell us in your own words, please.

Of course! Something funny happens when you start to ask people to look at patterns: the truth has a way of rising to the surface, and once it does, it’s hard to unsee! By looking at all the creatures in this book, most kids will no doubt have their favorites. (Sidenote: a great conversation will happen in classrooms if teachers try this, and notice what class of animals kids choose as the cutest!)

Pondering exactly what elements we find cute, or drawing our own, it becomes much easier to see our own patterns and preferences. Are the ‘cutest’ animals always mammals, for example? Are they creatures that we see as “human-like”, with large, expressive eyes or adorable smiles? If so, are we sending the message that something is more deserving of love or attention if it’s similar to us? What about those that are different from us?

Big questions, for sure. But exploring these biases in a non-threatening, low stakes way like a book about animals is one way to get the conversation going.

For me, personally, my respect and admiration for all animals is heightened with each one of your books but with this book, I am even more excited.  In this book there are two animals if I look with great care, I might find. How many of the animals in Cute As An Axolotl: Discovering the World’s Most Adorable Animals (or the other two titles) have you seen in the wild?

It’s so amazing to hear this! Honestly, when I think about just how amazing the natural world is, and how lucky we are to be a part of it, I get all choked up. I could spend my entire life trying to express the magnitude of awe I feel, and it would never be enough. I’ve seen my fair share of wild creatures out there, but many of them are nearly impossible to find without a lot of time and patience!

Some standouts from Cute as an Axolotl for me are fairy penguins, which I’ve spotted in New Zealand, and of course, our cover model, the axolotl! One creature that I would love to see but haven’t yet is the pangolin—they are such amazing creatures, I can’t wait to meet one in person!

Is there anything else you would like your readers to know, Jess, before we reveal the book trailer?

I hope readers enjoy this book as much as I did working on it! (And my favorite cute animal? I’ll never tell!) Thank  you again for having me, Margie!

On the count of three . . . one . . . two . . . three.

You are always welcome to visit Librarian's Quest, Jess.  It was informative and loads of fun to have you here today. (And I wish you were standing in front of me now.  I could just hug you for some of your answers.)  I know this book trailer is going to get readers excited about all the cuteness to be seen in the pages of this book.  As soon as Mulan heard the word puppies she was looking for them.  (She would never admit it but I think she was completely fascinated with the kittens.)

I hope readers will visit Jess's website by following the link attached to her name.  It's a treasure of information period but you can find out about her books, writing, and the videos she makes for us.  She has two channels, an author channel and a science channel.  She has a monthly magazine you can receive via email.  I look forward to it each month.  Jess is on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest. (Jess shares her artwork on Instagram.)

5 Faves: Expository Nonfiction

With more than one hundred eighty science books to her credit author Melissa Stewart more than deserves her award-winning status.  She is known for her captivating writing style specifically geared to the intended audience but all ages can learn from her fascinating factual presentations.  Her research is meticulous and authentic.

Starting on this date, September 11, 2017, Melissa is hosting a series of blog posts based on expository nonfiction on her blog, Celebrate Science.  She spoke about expository nonfiction at length in a Nerdy Book Club post.  I am honored to be the first educator contributing to this series.

I think you will enjoy my five favorite selections.  They are centered on the animal kingdom.  The start of the school year has clearly demonstrated the demand for animal titles is as strong as ever at all age levels.  Happy reading to you and the readers in your life!

This Is Not Your Imagination!

The first time I can recall using the word monster was after some person of questionable scruples told me about the possibility of one hiding under my bed.  I can't remember how long it took me to not be afraid to hang any portion of my body over the outline of the bed.  And there is no denying the fascination with cryptids such as the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, Bunyip, Chupacabra, the Jersey Devil or the Michigan Dogman to name only a few.

Most dictionaries define the word monster by using the word imaginary.  Monsters are simply not real.  Or are they?  In a companion title to the highly popular, Pink Is For Blobfish: Discovering the World's Perfectly Pink Animals (The World of Weird Animals series)     (Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, February 2, 2016) zoologist and author Jess Keating presents What Makes A Monster?: Discovering the World's Scariest Creatures (The World of Weird Animals series) (Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, August 8, 2017).  David DeGrand returns with his quirky, humorous illustrations.  If you want to read a book, gasping at every page turn, this is a title you can't miss!

What makes a MONSTER?
Turn the page to find out,
if you dare...

Those three little words, if you dare, will apply throughout this title.  Seventeen of our planet's occupants on land, sea and air from the animal kingdom are revealed in all their strange, bizarre wonder.  You might think the cover creature has been shocked by its expression but the aye-aye uses those bony claws to tap on tree trunks looking for prey. When it finds something, it munches through the bark and gulp!  There are superstitions attached to the aye-aye; it is seen as a harbinger of death or even worse...causes death.  They, vampire bats, may not be Dracula but the way they get blood gives me the shivers.

You are not going to believe which fearless creature can be bitten by a venomous snake and live another day.  There is no escaping the tentacles of this group of animals which move as one.  They are usually thirty feet long but can be one hundred sixty-five feet long!  Holy heroes!  This frog is also known as the Wolverine frog. Guess why?

Facts about birds that kill the young of other birds after laying their eggs in that bird's nest, an ant brain feeding fungus, and a stinging insect that saves lives will astound you.  And trust me; you will never look at a prairie dog the same way again.  Who knew?  As if ants don't have enough problems already, another bug uses their corpses as clothing.

Sea creatures defending themselves with two sets of jaws and another who lives in the deep, deep depths sucking in its food like a vacuum are to be respected.  They are no ordinary dragons of legend and lore but Komodo dragons are deadly, eating anything they can.  There will be some readers who will be surprised by the seventeenth animal named.  I'm not one of them.  It's what makes this book a stunning accomplishment, asking us to really think about the use of the word monster and what it means to us.


Armed with knowledge of her subject and gifted for knowing exactly what readers need and want to know Jess Keating educates her readers like a master teacher.  For each of the seventeen animals she begins with an informative narrative paragraph.  This is followed by extensions relative to the animal; local superstitions, feeding habits, a detailed explanation of a unique trait, origin of a name or survival techniques.  On the right side of the right page (two pages are dedicated to each animal, beginning with a realistic photograph on the left), Jess gives us their name, species name, size, diet, habitat and predators and threats.

As if we are engaged in a one-on-one conversation she has readers riveted to the pages from the beginning to the end.  As you move from animal to animal, though, you find yourself speculating on their place and purpose in the grand scheme.  Above all else Jess Keating is inviting us to think.  Here is an example of one of the extended, second sections.

A Curious Claw
Claws are found in a wide range of species,
but clawed frogs are only found in Central
Africa.  In other animals, claws are made of
keratin, the same substance that creates
our own nails and hair.  But the claws of
horror frogs are unique---instead of
keratin, they are made of bone.


After you have read the words written by Jess Keating you are pleasantly surprised to find yourself laughing at how perfectly cartoonist David DeGrand seems to portray exactly what you are thinking.  For each of the seventeen animals he includes a comical image pertaining to a particular trait.  As the aye-aye taps on the outside of a tree trunk an insect quickly avoids death by leaping out a hole, ants are walking in a line upright with arms outstretched chanting All hail, Fungus! after their brains have been attacked by cordyceps fungus, a cute little prairie dog looks innocent as deadly, angry germs surround it and a barely alive Japanese giant hornet is leaving a smoking honeybee nest.  One of my favorite of several illustrations is of the tyrant leech king sitting in a chair and ottoman with a straw extending from its mouth, sucking on skin.


You must have multiple copies of What Makes A Monster?: Discovering the World's Scariest Creatures (The World of Weird Animals series) written by Jess Keating with illustrations by David DeGrand.  Readers will read these over and over again until they have the well-loved look.  Students will pass this book from reader to reader.  They will be quoting facts aloud.  At the close of the book Jess Keating asks us to ponder monster pairs.  She also has another page requesting us to seriously consider several questions about scary creatures, welcoming discussions. A Say What?! A Glossary of Useful Words closes the title.

To discover more about Jess Keating and David DeGrand and their other work please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Jess Keating's website is a treasure trove of resources for everyone but especially for educators.  She is continually sharing her zoological passion with readers bridging any gaps between us and the animal world.  Both the cover and the book trailer for this title were revealed at Scholastic's Ambassador of School Libraries John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read. By visiting the publisher's website you can view a portion of the book's interior.  I recently discovered an interview of Jess Keating at Celebrate Picture Books which you might enjoy.

Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to view the titles selected by other bloggers participating in the 2017 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Colorful Critters

If you were to ask a roomful of students to play a word association game using the primary, red, blue, and yellow, and secondary, orange, green and violet, colors, will all their answers be the same? Based upon their ages, past experiences and thinking processes certainly some answers will be identical.  For the same reasons many will be different.  Colors are attached to some powerful memories.

If you were to throw out a shade made when adding white to a primary color such as pink, what will they say?  Does pink remind them of cotton candy, cherry blossoms, roses, candy or cupcakes, flamingos, pigs or tongues?  I'll bet not a single one would reply with the title of this new book, Pink Is For Blobfish: Discovering the World's Perfectly Pink Animals (The World of Weird Animals series) (Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, February 2, 2016).  Zoologist Jess Keating (How To Outrun A Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied, How To Outswim A Shark Without A Snorkel, and How To Outfox Your Friends When You Don't Have A Clue) has authored one of the most captivating and fun nonfiction books of 2016.

Think you know PINK?
Think again...

Seventeen of the animal kingdom's most interesting, sometimes rarely seen and PINK creatures are presented to readers.  The title fish, Blobfish, is known for floating in the ocean waiting patiently for food to pass by so it can be swallowed into their mouths.  It will be easily spotted as it can grow to a foot long.  Coming in at half the size, but still too big for some people is a hairy Pinktoe Tarantula.  I would avoid the hairs for reasons explained and you won't believe the color of these eight-legged creatures when they are tiny tykes.

There are insects masquerading as flowers, camera-shy, inch-long coral residents, and birds nearly made extinct due to the demand for their feathers.  If you happen to be boating in the fresh water rivers of South America, you might catch a glimpse of a pod of Amazon River Dolphins rounding up their next meal working as a team to move a group of fish toward shore.  A mention of a butt plate, negatively phototaxic and hermaphroditic will definitely up the intrigue factor.

They might be naked but Naked Mole Rats could give above-ground architects a few lessons.  Their homes have rooms for specific uses. The gross meter might break when readers discover an animal that extends their stomach through their mouth to eat. Pink sun tan oil and a double dose of mucus are prime methods of protection by two beings that differ greatly in size.

On a single location in the Galapagos Islands, Southeast Asia, in the forests of South America and among coral reefs near Indonesia four more pink occupants of our planet are found walking, creeping, swinging, and clinging.  Five continents are visited in tribute to those beings in which we share our space.  It's a fascinating feast for our minds and eyes.


With the expertise of her profession and knowledge of her audience Jess Keating breaks the narrative portion for each animal into three sections.  (All of the text is placed on the right page.)  At the top she entices us with basic but unbelievable items, moves toward riveting details which could only come from extensive research and completely hooks us with specifics in a column on the side.  She includes the name, scientific name, size, diet, habitat and predators and threats.   I wonder if others will draw the same conclusion I did from reading the predators and threats paragraphs.

We are compelled to turn page after page without stopping by the writing style of Keating.  She does not avoid particulars but presents them in a conversational manner with a great deal of wit delivered with respect.  What she chooses to disclose will be hard to forget.  Here is the text from one of the second sections.

#1 Dad
In most animal species, it is usually the female who becomes pregnant and gives birth.  But seahorses don't care about tradition.  Instead, male seahorses become pregnant and carry the eggs in a pouch on their bellies until they hatch.  If that isn't enough to earn them the Dad of the Year Award, they also keep the eggs clean and protect them from predators.

For each animal a full color representation is supplied on the left within an irregular shape. (Credits for these are supplied at the beginning of the book.)  Cartoonist David DeGrand has drawn comic images for each animal which are part of the narrative display on the right.  We are shown a crown-wearing and scepter-carrying blobfish, a spoonbill gobbling down shrimp from a take-out box, a dolphin ready to lasso a school of fish and a trio of mole rats hard at work.  Each one are more than worthy of grins and I guarantee you will laugh out loud at least once. One of my favorite pictures is of the sun-bathing, happy hippopotamus comfortably seated on a striped towel enjoying a book.


Multiple copies of Pink Is For Blobfish: Discovering the World's Perfectly Pink Animals written by Jess Keating with cartoons by David DeGrand is a must for your professional and personal shelves.  Everyone will want to read this repeatedly and immediately without wanting or waiting to share. It's a passel of PINK personalities with pizzazz.  A world map showing animal locations, a glossary of words in bold within the text, a suggested bibliography and cool hints at careers are supplied at the close of the book.

Please follow the links attached to Jess Keating's and David DeGrand's names to access their individual websites to learn more about them and their work.  You can see some of the interior portions of the book by visiting the publisher's website.  The book trailer was premiered at Scholastic's Ambassador for School Libraries John Schumacher's blog, Watch. Connect. Read. Jess Keating is interviewed on the Let's Get Busy, Episode #231 podcast.  Stand-on-a-desk-and-shout-I-love-reading educator Colby Sharp interviews Jess Keating on his blog, sharpread.  Design of the Picture Book celebrates this title.  Jess Keating has a collection of videos on YouTube, Animals for Smart People.  You can follow Jess Keating on Twitter at @Jess_Keating

Please stop by Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to enjoy the other titles selected by bloggers this week participating in the 2016 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.