January 16, 2023
Employing puns, rhymes, and light interactivity, Jameson and Scobie probe the features that distinguish perceived animal look-alikes. Spreads encourage debate as subjects are introduced in a quiz format (“Puffin? Penguin in the sky?/ Which seabird can really fly?”), and page turns reveal the answers with playfully explanatory prose (“Waddle, waddle! Weighing just over a pound, puffins are light enough for flight”). Comparisons vary in difficulty and range across species pairings, which include hares/rabbits, clams/oysters, frogs/toads, as well as the titular llama/alpaca. Scobie uses soft-edged, scribbly graphic techniques to showcase friendly looking species as they mingle and gaze with big googly eyes. When the motley group comes together in a final smile-filled scene, it’s to celebrate the reader’s savvy and reinforce the wildly informative fun on display. Ages 4–8.
January 1, 2023
A guessing game for readers who are a little hazy on the differences between turtles and tortoises, dolphins and porpoises, and other often confused animal cousins. "Croc or gator? Be a sleuth. / Guess who grins from tooth to tooth?" Not only are several of Jameson's supposed clues--for telling hares from rabbits, for instance, or bees from wasps and hornets--just as obscure as that one, but some of the solutions on following spreads will leave young nature detectives as perplexed as they were before. Scobie's cartoon crocodile actually leaves multiple teeth exposed when its jaws are closed, not just the "fourth" one the author specifies. Nor, the way the illustrator angles the two side-by-side reptiles, are the differences in their snouts (another distinction Jameson mentions) visible. The rest of the presentation is similarly phoned in; it seems unlikely that even very young children will ever confuse arbitrary pairings like puffins and penguins, the titular alpaca is shown not in full but only from chin up and really looks more like a sheep than a llama, and a teaser image of a toad leaping off a lily pad ("Frog or toad now hopping in?") is just cheating given that toads don't actually live in ponds. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A promising premise sloppily handled. (Informational picture book. 5-7)
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April 1, 2023
K-Gr 3-Who's who in this book about similarities of animals in and out of the wild? Readers get quizzed about what they truly know about the animals listed. "Is this a rabbit or hare with the long ears?" Animals that have similar looks and traits are set up in pairs and alongside their pictures are the differences between them. Most of these animals will be considered in the same general family, but children will love seeing what makes an alligator different from a crocodile, or a frog differ from a toad. This is a wonderful book for a wide range of children to appreciate. The text is simple enough for children who are already reading on their own to decipher or younger ones to discuss with their caregivers. VERDICT Great for class visits to the library and any children's collection.-Annmarie Braithwaite
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