Looking for a book that the whole
family can enjoy? Try “The Animal Book” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $21.99,
ages 6 up), written and illustrated by Steve Jenkins.
Known for his masterful
collage illustrations (he won a 2004 Caldecott Honor for “What Do You Do With a
Tail Like This?”), Jenkins often focuses on the animal world in his books. Here
he’s brought all of his knowledge and artistic talent together to produce a treasury
of intriguing animal facts and figures.
Subtitled “A Collection of the Fastest,
Fiercest, Toughest, Cleverest, Shyest – and Most Surprising – Animals on
Earth,” Jenkins’ newest book is great for dipping into, or for reading a
chapter at a time. Anyone from
elementary school-age up who’s interested in animals – and that’s just about
everyone! – will find something to like in “The Animal Book;” even adults will
find themselves marveling over what they see and learn. The book is packed with
intriguing facts, and Jenkins writes smoothly and well about everything from
the way animals blend into their environment to which animals are deadliest to
humans. And then there are the colorful collage illustrations that beautifully
bring hundreds of animals to life on the page.
For those wondering how he creates
his illustrations, Jenkins has put together a short video explaining his
process, and he
also explains how he works in an October interview about “The Animal Book” with Roger
Sutton, editor-in-chief of The Horn Book, the highly-respected journal of
children’s literature. “The Animal Book” also has been discussed on the Heavy Medal blog, which focuses on books that could be possibilities for
the Newbery Medal (although no one really knows, of course, as the process is top
secret).
(Note: My write-up of “The Animal
Book” is based on a review copy I received from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.)
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