i see a kookaburra discovering animal habitats around the world

Girl power abounds in this book about coding that introduces young readers to the world of programming while offering them hands-on activities via a companion app. Jenkins’ accomplished collage illustrations of common bird species-woodpecker, hummingbird, cowbird, emperor penguin, eagle, owl, wren-as well as exotics, such as flamingoes and hornbills, are characteristically naturalistic and accurate in detail.Ī good bet for the youngest bird-watchers. The simple rhymes on the left page of each spread, written from the young bird’s perspective, will appeal to younger children, and the notes on the right-hand page of each spread provide more complex factual information that will help parents answer further questions and satisfy the curiosity of older children. The author clearly feels a mission to impart her extensive knowledge of birds and bird behavior to the very young, and she’s found an appealing and attractive way to accomplish this. An especially endearing nesting behavior is that of the emperor penguin, who, with unbelievable patience, incubates the egg between his tummy and his feet for up to 60 days. Some of the notes are intriguing, such as the fact that the hummingbird uses flexible spider web to construct its cup-shaped nest so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow. 4-8)Įchoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.Įach sweet stanza is complemented by a factual, engaging description of the nesting habits of each bird. However, there may be a hint of staleness in the air: While the animals have the lush, textured look one associates with Jenkins’s work, the habitats are much less well-developed, resulting in a flatness and skewing of perspective that distorts the relative sizes of the animals shown. An ant appears in each habitat, boosting the “I spy” appeal of the activity, and in general, this offering provides what readers have come to expect from Jenkins: eye-popping collages and accessible information about the natural world. Thumbnails of each animal appear again in the back matter with more thorough descriptions, along with discussion and location of their different habitats. ” is completed on this second spread by the names of the animals represented and brief descriptions of what they are doing. Cut-paper collages depict the denizens of six different habitats, first disguised in situ and then, with the turn of the page, in the same orientations but in plain view on a white background.

I see a kookaburra discovering animal habitats around the world