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Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake) | J 591.97 FIT | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
In Volume 2 of the award-winning Curious Critters series, photographer David FitzSimmons depicts a variety of animals common throughout North America. See stunning images of everyday animals, including a great-horned owl, American alligator, bluegill, striped skunk, gold-green sweat bee, cave salamander, sidewinder, and many other eye-catching creatures. Each Curious Critter is photographed against a white backdrop, showcasing the animals' colors, textures, shapes, and seeming personalities. Each photo is accompanied with a short narrative, told from the critter's perspective, that educates and entertains. For example, a bilingual armadillo banters about its unique pink protective shell, a click beetle explains its back-bending acrobatics, and a high-flying falcon narrates its death-defying dive.
Author Notes
David FitzSimmons is an award-winning photographer and writer. His Curious Critters children's picture books have won numerous national book awards and have sold over 100,000 copies. A Sigma Pro photographer, David presents seminars and workshops across North America to a wide variety of audiences. He holds a Ph.D. in English from Ohio State, with a specialty in narrative theory. A life-long educator, David frequently visits schools to talk about connecting children and nature.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-Twenty-three creatures provide first-person anthropomorphized perspectives on their experiences. Large, clear photographs of amphibians, birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, and insects shine against each spare background. While many of those critters will be familiar to young readers (striped skunks and American alligators), there are some unusual choices, from geometer moths to eyed elaters. The photographs are visually stunning with dramatic facial expressions, though they don't always mirror the text. The American alligator section features a lone alligator, though the opening sentence reads, "My brothers and I are practicing bellowing." Statements vary in their appeal. The gold-green sweat bee's interesting perspective strikes with a punch. "Are you nice and sweaty? Great! I'll clean you up. Of course, by 'clean you up' I mean I'll crawl all over your skin and lick up your sweat." Statements from other animals don't add much detail, however, such as this limerick from S. Skunk. "My skunk reputation's maligned./On bees and small rodents I dine./And that spray that you fear/coming out of my rear,/I think odoriferously fine!" While there are no source notes provided, there is a glossary, though the vocabulary provided may surpass the level of understanding for the young audience. Glyptodon is defined, for example, as "relatives of armadillos that lived during the Pleistocene epoch and became extinct about ten thousand years ago." The section "Curious Critters: Natural History" provides a few concluding factual statements. The spread "Curious Critters Life-Size Silhouettes" poses several interesting questions against a backdrop of animal silhouettes. It's the impressive photographs that remain the real star here.-Meg Smith, Cumberland County Public Library, Fayetteville, NC (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
FitzSimmons's companion to 2011's Curious Critters features dramatic, close-up photographs of 20 animals that range from recognizable (monarch butterfly, gray squirrel) to unfamiliar (gold-green sweat bee). Each subject describes itself in language varying from earnest to playfully boastful: "My name is eyed elater./ No beetle's jump is greater./ Click. Click. Click," says one insect with hip-hop swagger. Elsewhere, a cardinal describes domestic tranquility ("We built another nest, and now the apple of my eye is incubating our second clutch of eggs"). FitzSimmons's intimate photos and mix of science and fun should especially appeal to kids who would rather have a pet tarantula than gerbil. Ages 2-8. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Fans of Steve Jenkins' Actual Size (2004) and Teruyuki Komiya's Life-Size Zoo (2009) will welcome this latest book to feature animals up close. Eye-catching color photographs set against white backgrounds show off 20 remarkable animals, from a striped skunk and a great horned owl to a cave salamander and a nine-banded armadillo. Short, first-person narratives in the voices of the animals use a conversational style to introduce such characteristics as adaptation, migration, sound, movement, and habitat. A few poems, including a concrete poem that reflects the shape of the eyed elater beetle, keep the text lively. There are many surprises here, such as the gray squirrel that is white in color because he's leucistic (lacks color pigments in his skin and hair, but not in his eyes like an albino). There are also the eastern cottontail rabbits, which eat their own poop to double their nutrients from the same meal. Concluding thumbnails offer more information about these diverse creatures, while overlapping life-size silhouettes allow children to make contrasts and comparisons. Here's one book that really lives up to its title!--Leeper, Angela Copyright 2014 Booklist