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Summary
Summary
Rats, mosquitoes, bats, cockroaches, leeches, vultures -- it's easy to fear and despise them. But are they all bad? You probably know that rats destroy food supplies and can cause house fires when they gnaw on electrical wires, but did you know their supersensitive noses can help detect tuberculosis or even land mines?
Are these conventionally icky critters really public enemies, or do they have merits worth appreciating? Friend or Foe takes a close look at what we dislike about each of 10 unpopular animals, and then presents the flip side: these very same animals are often smart, helpful to humans and the environment, or inspiring to scientists.
After each pair of polarizing spreads, readers are asked to decide for themselves if the animal is friend or foe. Fascinating research and anecdotes, fun design inspired by propaganda posters, and playful use of persuasive language and point of view make Friend or Foe an engaging read that will leave readers reconsidering common perceptions.
Informational text features: table of contents, headings and labels, index
Author Notes
Etta Kaner writes for both children and educators. The majority of her children's books are non-fiction and have been translated into many languages. Several of her books have won awards including the Ontario Library Association's Silver Birch Award, the Henry Bergh Award, the Animal Behaviour Society Award, Scientific American Young Readers Book Award, and the Science in Society Book Award. While her earlier books were inspired by her two daughters, many of her later books have been inspired by elementary school students that she teaches. Etta lives in Toronto.
David Anderson is an illustrator and cartoonist with a background as a political cartoonist in several South African newspapers. His Canadian clients include Kids Can Press, Rogers Media, Bell Global Media, Can West, Nissan Canada, General Mills, and Met Life. He has won several national awards, including The Standard Bank Cartoon of the Year (South Africa) and the Duncan Macpherson Award for Editorial Cartooning (Canada). His work is syndicated worldwide by The New York Times Syndicate and Cartoonists and Writers Syndicate in California. He is also the author and illustrator of two children's books, and the illustrator of And The Winner Is... (Kids Can Press, 2013). David is based in Toronto, Ontario.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-5-Kaner takes on peoples' fears and misconceptions about a variety of creepy-crawly, shudder-inducing animals, including cockroaches, mosquitoes, bats, spiders, wolves, and more. In each case, she demonstrates that while there are negative aspects to all of these, they each contribute something useful to humans or to the environment. For instance, while rats carry disease, African giant pouched rats are great mine detectors, saving lives in previously war-torn countries. Leeches suck blood, but attaching leeches to a wound "stops blood clotting and keeps blood flowing." Bats can carry rabies and other diseases, but they eat millions of mosquitoes and fertilize fields with their guano. And those nasty, biting mosquitoes, which carry malaria and other diseases, are great pollinators, and their larvae help clean up water systems by eating decaying plant matter. This is a fascinating book that suffers only from cartoonish illustrations that sometimes anthropomorphize the animals covered. However, the intended audience is not likely to be put off by the visuals, and this book will be of interest to some reluctant readers. VERDICT Recommended as a secondary purchase for school and public libraries.-Nancy Silverrod, San Francisco Public Library © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Caricatures illustrate this examination of some underappreciated or feared animals. In lively prose, scientific facts--the good, the bad, and the ugly--about rats, cockroaches, snakes, leeches, and even rabbits are juxtaposed with humor to make readers reevaluate their perspectives, broaden understanding of these creatures' environmental niches, and illuminate complex questions about their value. Bib., ind. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
An album of scary, dangerous, or revolting creaturesall of which have better sides. For 10 animals, from rats and roaches to sharks and wolves, Kaner presents in turn a selection of destructive or disgusting habits, then beneficial behaviors. Though negatives tend to be more vivid than countering claims, readers who swoon over gross bits will find plenty of passages like "How does a vulture cool off on hot days? It poops on its legs," and "It takes much less feed, land, and water to raise a pound of cockroach meat than it does to raise a pound of beef." Her titles are thrilling too: "Leeches Suck." "AAH! SHARKS!" "Vultures Deserve Better Press." Along with being sometimes unconvincing ("Marvelous Mosquitoes"), most of her observations are generalized or, like a suggestion that a certain mosquito-eating spider might be the "solution" for malaria, facile. Moreover, her invitation to make a "friend or foe?" choice for each animal sets up a series of false dichotomies that she then confusingly (if rightly) dismisses abruptly with a concluding explanation that "Animals Are Just Doing Their Thing." Anderson adds a comical tone to the enterprise with cartoon illustrations of beasties bearing human expressions and uttering such quips as "Howl's it going?" or "I'm glad pie-thon isn't on the menu!" Unvarnished infotainment, cross-purposed and more suitable for casual browsing than focused research. (bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 8-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
OK, so rats are pretty much the worst. They cause untold damage to crops and houses, they push out other species, and they spread diseases remember that thing called the bubonic plague? But they're also incredibly smart and agile, fastidious about caring for themselves, and very affectionate. In some parts of the world, they even save lives: African giant pouched rats are trained to sniff out tuberculosis and even buried land mines. So you decide: Are rats friends or foes? This engagingly, sometimes comically illustrated volume takes an unbiased look at some of the world's most hated and feared animals spiders, snakes, mosquitoes, bats, and wolves all make an appearance laying out first the negatives and then the positives each creature offers, both to humans and the environment in general. An end chapter ties everything together, explaining how all animals, even the ones that make our skin crawl, are an important part of the ecosystem. A fun, interactive, and high-interest exploration of biology basics.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2015 Booklist
