April 7, 2014

Animal Information

Today's topic is a little less cohesive. I found a few great books containing information on animals that have fantastic illustrations, not to mention an engaging way to learn about animals, numbers, and letters. I'm just going to dive right in.

First we have Marije Tolman's Jumping Penguins. Just from the cover it's a fascinating book: it's an over-sized book with no title or author listed. No information on the cover indicates what kind of book this is, except for the giant pile of animals:



 Off to an interesting start, the book lists information about a handful of animals that has an encyclopedia-feel to it. But the illustrations definitely take center stage. Comical and usually reflective of some aspect of the animal, they provide a fun way to learn about animals and broaden the imagination:





I found myself similarly struck by Katie Viggers' Almost an Animal Alphabet. With equally soft and flexible illustrations, the book invites readers in to learn about animals through the alphabet. But no letter is ever perfectly straightforward. Tale a look:





In the same vein, Lifetime by Lola M. Schaefer and Christopher Silas Neal conveys interesting information on numbers in a way that relates back to animals and captures the reader's attention. The Neal's illustrations are soft, yet poignant, and the numbers allow readers to engage count along while learning about animals.






That's it for this post! Have a great week!!

Animal informationingly yours,
Mel

2 comments:

  1. Fantastic reviews Mel. I'm so glad you found me! Have you reviewed anything Aussie? Can I help? (Littlebooksau)

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  2. Hi Fiona! I'm so glad, too!! I just got the new Shaun Tan picturebook in a few days ago, and I'm absolutely in love with it. I'll definitely be writing about it in a post in the near future. And I'd love to stay in touch! I have a few of the classic illustrators and authors (Fox, Vivas, Baker, etc.), but I'm always on the lookout for exceptional picturebooks from other countries, even other languages. Thanks for reaching out!

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