Creature Feature

Bibliography

Jenkins, Steve. 2014. Twenty-Five Animals Explain Why They Look the Way They Do. Ill. By Robin Page. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0544233515

Plot Summary

Have you ever wondered why a giraffe’s tongue is purple? Or why a giant panda has black eyes? Creature Feature answers those questions and 23 others about animals from around the world. Many of the animals are familiar, such as the bighorn sheep, hamster, and pufferfish. Other animals such as the babirusa, axolotl, and rock hyrax are probably new to most readers. These short conversations are sure to be a delight to readers both young and old.

Critical Analysis

Creature Feature is set up in a question and answer format. The narrator asks an animal a question about a particular facial feature. The animal responds with a short, but informative answer. Each animal’s response is full of humor and charm. The answers are accurate and inspire further exploration. A bibliography of sources is included in the back of the book.

Each question and answer pair is accompanied by an up close and personal portrait of the animal’s face. The illustrator created cut-and-tear paper collages to highlight each animals’ unique features. In each picture, the texture of the paper is able to mimic the animal’s fur, feathers, and skin texture.

 The book also includes a double page spread that has a silhouette of each animal’s body in comparison to an adult human. This allows children to compare the sizes of the various creatures. It also includes facts about the animals’ diet and location.

Review Excerpts

School Library Journal: “Loaded with nuggets of information and layered in humor, this is a winning picture book that is sure to inform as well as entertain.”

Booklist: “It’s a splendid introduction and a memorable read-aloud for young children.”

Connections

*Students can choose one of the animals to research further.

*Other non-fiction books about animals:

·         Jenkins, Steve. What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?. ISBN 978-0618997138.

·         Jenkins, Steve. Actual Size. ISBN 978-0547512914.

·         Jenkins, Steve. Biggest, Strongest, Fastest. ISBN 978-0395861363.