Concept Books: Animal Traits

The reader is asked to guess what a creature is from a description of the appearance and use of the its tail.

Do pigs buzz around flowers? Have you ever seen a ladybug stand on one tiny leg? Who might you find swimming underwater? Animals move and so do we! Can you hop like a flea -- or even fly? Each silly question appears on a double-page spread along with a bright illustration of the animal in a pose. When young readers turn the page, the surprising answer is revealed.

Pretend you're a toad. Look up. What do you see? Imagine you're a whale. Look down. What do you see? Now, come along on a picture book journey that invites you to see the world from many different perspectives. Look up, down, and everywhere in between. What do you see?

Frogs hop. Rabbits hop. Kangaroos hop. Cows hop. Cows hop?! No they don't, of course, and so begins the simple repetitive pattern of this clever book. From the cow that doesn't hop to the giraffe that doesn't crawl, animals on brightly colored page after page offer up giggles galore and a delightfully silly look at the way some creatures do--and don't--get around. When the time comes to guess who hops and flies and slithers and swims and crawls, observant young readers just might know the answer!

After showing a young animal in an early stage of its development (e.g., a tadpole, chick, or caterpillar), readers are asked what it will be when it grows up.

One two-page spread offers clues concerning the identity of a particular animal & a peephole that reveals part of the animal. The following spread gives the full picture as well as some information.

Various animal activities, such as burying, clinging, and swinging, are illustrated through text and collages.

A book about different animals with wings.

Labeled drawings portray animals at the zoo.