(3) K-3 Right-facing pages show photos of baby zoo animals; in the accompanying text, the animals introduce themselves and one of their identifying features (stripes for a baby tapir; stumpy horns for a rhino). Turn the page to see how that baby grows and changes when they get “BIG.” Like other ZooBorns books, this one has a clean layout, suitably adorable photos, and friendly text; closing pages provide additional information about each of the animals and their species’ conservation status.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Kerns

(2) K-3 Worm acknowledges very early on that he can’t actually make a sandwich -- he is a small worm without hands, after all. What Worm can do, and with great enthusiasm, is eat garbage and poop it out to make a nutritious base for dirt in the garden that will grow vegetables for the promised sandwich. The lone human child in the story constructs a compost bin and fills it with plant-based food scraps, while Worm makes eye contact to ask for our patience and shares his favorite dirt recipe: “a little of this, a little of that, and compost.” We watch as the seeds for future-lunch are planted and slowly grow, while Worm’s refrain of “I’m sorry, but the [garbage / dirt / poop] is not for your sandwich” tamps down expectations of eating anytime soon. Under midsummer storm–darkened skies, Worm’s doubts set in: “GUUHHHHH!...Why did you ask a worm to make you a sandwich in the first place?” Then the sky clears, and the star of summer (and lunch) emerges on the vine: a ripe, round tomato. This ode to compost is neither preachy nor grody, and Worm is such a charming guide to the growing season that it’s easy to forget he didn’t actually prepare any sandwiches. Lush, cheerful watercolor and pencil illustrations are complex but not busy, and plants and critters are labeled with hand-drawn lettering. Back matter explains the nuts and bolts of composting.

Reviewer: Pam Yosca | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2025

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Stephanie Laberis. Part one of this book about animal play introduces play activities that have a purpose, such as hyenas having a tug-of-war to strengthen their jaws and otters “juggling” rocks to increase dexterity. Part two is about animal play that is just for fun, such as sledding ravens and body-surfing saltwater crocodiles. The text is informative and fascinating (who knew orangutans played dress-up?); the complementary digital illustrations, in mainly muted colors, show a variety of animals having a great time. A glossary and bibliography are appended.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Kerns

(3) K-3 Tiny Habitats series. This informative picture book describes how a bison’s “steamy poo pile” becomes an important part of a prairie ecosystem. Over the course of a year, insects eat and lay eggs inside it; toads, turtles, and birds come to eat the bugs; flowers and grasses grow in the enriched soil. In the spring, a poo pile from a baby bison begins the cycle anew. Mixed-media illustrations depict the variety of life on the prairie; speech bubbles add personality (“Mmm, these roots are tangy!” muses a munching prairie dog). More background, a bibliography, and further reading are appended.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Kerns

(3) K-3 Stunning nature photography and interesting animal facts make this a compelling title. More than thirty exotic creatures are profiled, with the animals grouped according to their diets: carnivores, herbivores, omnivores, and scavengers. Each profile lists an animal’s classification, habitat, size, and foods, along with the sounds it makes and how many babies it has at a time. Hughes also includes thought-provoking questions throughout. Related activities, a glossary, and additional resources are appended.

Reviewer: Marva Anne Hinton

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Jason Chin. As a ninety-year-old blue whale dies, one story ends and another begins. Her body provides food for other creatures before it gradually descends to the depths of the ocean floor. But it doesn't stop there: her body will sustain life of one kind or another for the next few hundred years. Small marine animals, from fish to crabs to octopuses, pick the skeleton bare before another wave of animals moves in. Eventually, rich nutrients seep into the water, and that water is carried to the surface, where it nourishes krill, the major food source for blue whales. Brunelle's engaging voice strikes the right balance between narration and exposition, while the book design adroitly places her text judiciously across double-page spreads and into sidebar columns. Chin's (The Universe in You, rev. 1/23) always-exquisite watercolors thus dominate the layouts in a variety of double-page spreads, spot illustrations, and thumbnails -- even as supplemental maps, models, and cross-sections effortlessly convey complex visual information. Back matter includes more information about blue whales, marine ecosystems, and the four distinct phases of a whale fall. Recommended resources and a select bibliography are appended as well. Dedicated enthusiasts may also want to seek out Stewart and Dunlavey's Whale Fall (rev. 1/23).

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon. Much like superheroes, some animal species have remarkable abilities. The ten featured species with "superpowers" have notable adaptations that help them to survive. These creatures are indeed impressive, and the book's format enhances the drama: after each animal is introduced, a page-turn reveals the superpower and how it benefits that animal. Examples include Turritopsis jellyfish, which possess "immortality" (they can reset their life cycle in response to injury); mountain-dwelling ibex, which survive by "defying gravity" in their ability to scale sheer cliffs; snapping shrimp, which can produce a bubble that, when popped, resonates at a decibel level that can kill their prey; and dogs, with their "super sniffers" that can help rescue humans and detect dangerous chemicals. Preston-Gannon's colorful illustrations capture the essential details of each species and their environments. The end notes proclaim that "action is your superpower!" and show the impact humans have on each of the featured species.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(2) K-3 From a red cabin in a forest, the young protagonist calls for her dog. "Peppermint! Where is that pesky pup? I'm going out to look for Peppermint! You come too." In the panel-style illustrations that follow, the girl takes readers on a tour of her favorite features of the forest, while the cagey Peppermint comments from a circle inset on each spread. When there are reminiscences (about the time, for instance, when Peppermint came home with a snout full of porcupine quills), the action appears as childlike drawings in the girl's sketchbook (Peppermint: "Maybe not my finest hour"). A mix of the informative and the homey, the narration encompasses elements of history and geology (how millennia earlier, glaciers dropped erratic boulders), botany, zoology (the time a coyote chased them home and they later returned to find its den), and folk wisdom (how to make a whistle out of an acorn cupule), in a visually inviting and intellectually stimulating way. When the naughty Peppermint is at last reunited with her owner, they're rewarded with one of the girl's life-list ambitions: the sight of an elusive fisher regarding them silently from high in a tree. The back matter includes a note from the author about his home and a map showing the Adirondack Mountains, sidebars about porcupines and fishers, and a list of "a few good forest books."

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(3) K-3 “Every creature on Earth has its own special qualities. That is why it is so important we treasure all of them.” The text goes on to describe the unusual characteristics of twenty-two little-known animals and insects, from the limb-regenerating axolotl to the slime-releasing hagfish to the gliding colugo. Each critter gets a spread with vivid full-page illustrations, as well as graphic novel–style drawings, that break down the specifics of each animal’s “curiosity.” Animal aficionados are likely to learn something new about the variety of life on our planet. A “Did You Spot?” section that calls out additional creatures from the illustrations and glossary are appended.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Kerns

(2) K-3 In 1733 a hurricane wrecks a Spanish galleon, which then sinks to the bottom of the Caribbean Sea and begins to serve as an artificial reef. Hevron's account of the transformation from shipwreck to coral reef steps across the years, decades, and centuries to the present day. In "year 1," the ship is food, shelter, and a sturdy resting place for organisms with entertaining names such as piddocks, gribbles, and sea lettuce and to the coral larvae that begin to multiply. By "year 10" the ship has become an "underwater nursery" for blue tangs, damselfish, and lobsters, while the coral continues to grow. Numerous aquatic species continue to proliferate over the centuries, as the ship itself decomposes and disappears into the sand. Hevron's textured wood-grain digital collages are a natural choice to represent not only the wooden ship but also the movements of ocean currents and the swirling sands of the sea floor. In the foreground, the colorful animals that compose the "rainbow of reef life" take on human expressions with their cartoonlike eyes and add humor with jokes in speech bubbles. End notes explain more about artificial reefs and provide additional sources and resources.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Natasha Donovan. Hocker reminds readers that there is more to nature than a casual glance affords. When a group of child and adult hikers discovers an animal skull, they are prompted to consider what they can deduce from examining it, for this natural relic has a story to tell. "A skull speaks in arches and ridges and caverns of bones. It speaks in teeth and cracks, and holes into, and holes through. It says: I was." Readers turn the page and examine the skull (enlarged from the previous page's illustration), noting the two large openings where eyes once were, eyes that defined this creature as a "watcher." Donovan's full-bleed digital art on the next double-page spread depicts a lynx spotting a rabbit while hunting at twilight. This pattern continues, introducing a deer, a beaver, a hummingbird, a wolf, and an owl: shades of blue outlined in black display each animal's skull, text describes a prominent feature, and the animal is seen in its habitat employing this feature. Extensive back matter utilizes both text and a labeled illustration of a human skull to define features such as orbits, the cranium, and the mandible; additional attributes of the six skulls discussed in the main text; and resources for further inquiry. Once readers catch on to the unusual device of narrators being a succession of animal skulls, the text flows smoothly, and both the facts presented and the plea to appreciate the multiple ways nature speaks to us are clear.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Heather Wilson. Kaner and Wilson use humor to teach children how twelve animals eat. As a biracial family sits down for lunch, the narrator urges the kids not to behave like animals. For example, “never taste your salad with your feet like a butterfly.” Wilson’s digitally created illustrations with “hand-painted texture details” add to the entertainment. The text can be wordy at times but should hold the interest of animal enthusiasts. A list of additional animal facts is appended.

Reviewer: Marva Anne Hinton

(1) K-3 A figure stands on the edge of a boat (on the title-page spread) and then dives into the sea, a luminous, full moon shining brightly in the background. Once in the sea, the diver's headlamp leads the way. At a coral reef, "batfish and triggerfish find safe places to rest at night in the holes, caves, and cracks...a reef is like an underwater hotel." We learn that parrotfish make a sleeping bag like "gooey cocoon" constructed from mucus they produce in their glands. When the diver dares to turn off the headlamp, bioluminescent plankton appear like "a constellation of stars." Lu guides readers on a journey revealing a variety of life thriving in a wondrous world. The evocative mixed-media illustrations, mostly rendered in grays with sprinklings of color, leave readers with the distinct feeling of being in unfamiliar territory. The book is bound horizontally; rather than left and right pages, spreads are composed of pages above and below the gutter, creating a below-the-surface perspective. The innovative bookmaking also features heavy-stock pages, many of which include elegantly incorporated flaps providing factual information. Lu has produced a beautiful exploration of the "inky depths" -- a book to dive into again and again.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Katherine Roy. The Sargasso Sea sits within the Atlantic Ocean and is home to an ecosystem centered on the seaweed genus Sargassum. To the children portrayed exploring the seashore in the opening pages (and to readers), Sargassum may look like a plant, but it is actually algae and has intriguing characteristics. The large clumps of Sargassum that float on the water and reproduce by fragmentation host a diverse array of life. Rosenstock moves across the region's food web from the tiny to the large, beginning with microscopic life ("Crusty bryozoans / Feathery hydroids / Spiraled tube worms") and continuing through mollusks and crustaceans to the largest fish and whales. The text is dense with descriptive words, poetic phrasing, and scientific details: "The frogfish creeps. Hanging by fingery fins. Luring in prey, darting out to swallow it whole." A repeated phrase with slight variations at the end of each section connects each species back to its seaweed host. Roy's lush illustrations, set in clear, deep blue waters, bring it all to life. Featured species live, hunt, and reproduce within the swirling ocher of the Sargassum fronds, while white speckles of nutrients drift by. Back matter includes a helpful map and key to major Sargasso Sea species, an afterword by marine biologist Dr. Sylvia Earle, considerations of threats from climate change, and an account of the author and illustrator's travels to Bermuda to see the Sargasso Sea and consult with oceanographers.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2024

(3) 4-6 It’s fascinating to imagine: an underwater forest of cypress trees, which can grow up to eighty feet tall, submerged for tens of thousands of years, somewhere off the Alabama coast in the Gulf of Mexico, its exact location kept secret for preservation and protection due to the wood’s value. Swanson accompanied a group of scientists who were sanctioned to investigate and attempt to map the site. Her six accessible, engaging chapters touch on the researchers, their discoveries (shipworms!), setbacks (from murky water to COVID-19), technologies, and more. Useful sidebars, plentiful photographs, and QR codes to videos of the forest and scientists are included, as well as activities (e.g., “Grow Your Own Underwater Plants”), a reading list, and glossary, in the back matter.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Philip Bunting. Ben-Barak and Bunting have impressively produced a thought-provoking, scientifically precise, and accessible explanation of the origins of life and evolution across Earth's history for a young audience. Ideas about life, time, and heredity are conveyed through friendly illustrations and simple sentences (albeit with some sophisticated vocabulary). The book opens with questions that children may ask about their human families and histories: "What is life?" "How did I get it?" A deceptively modest reply, its last phrase repeated throughout the book, serves as an organizing concept as the origins of cellular organisms are explained: "Life Is the Way That Some Things Make More Things That Are a Lot Like Themselves but Sometimes a Little Bit Different." In the final pages, a gorgeous gatefold illustration invites readers to spot familiar plants and creatures (including a human) and trace their paths back to the first cell--a "very clever little bubble." If readers pause to let the statements sink in and look closely at the details in the finely crafted illustrations, they'll find clever subtleties that invite further contemplation about what makes "all of us."

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Hall. Berne's (On the Wings of Words, rev. 5/20) history of Earth's oceans and the evolution of marine life is presented as a poem in three parts: the formation of the oceans from Earth's early volcanic and atmospheric activity; the first emergence of life within the oceans; and the diversification of life in the seas to what we see today. The rhyming stanzas are impressive, filled with words and cadences that are entertaining to read aloud, and yet also precise in conveying scientific concepts about geological and biological processes. "So to the ocean came all kinds of life-- / fantastic, surprising, and new. / Step by step, bit by bit, they evolved in the sea. / And life grew, and life changed, and life grew." Hall's (Out of This World, rev. 3/19) mixed-media illustrations balance creative use of color and scientific accuracy: portraying the fiery black and orange landscapes of the young planet, the steamy grays and whites of the emerging ocean waters, and then the beautiful blues of the ocean across millions of years and down hundreds of meters. Extensive back matter includes notes from the author and illustrator on their research, detailed profiles of some of the species featured in the illustrations, additional resources and terminology, and a creative foldout timeline of Earth's history that is linked thematically to the concepts and illustrations in the book.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Diana Sudyka. The partnership of an action-oriented text and vibrant watercolor illustrations creates an enthusiastic introduction to the growth and effects (both positive and negative) of various forms of fungi. Gianferrari explains that fungi spores disperse in various ways: some "puff" with the wind, others "plop" with the rain, and still others spread through "stink and slime": "pee-ew!" Sudyka illustrates each onomatopoeic word with large lettering that graphically reflects the sound. For example, the letters in puff look like cotton balls, those in plop are thin with long vertical lines resembling falling rain, and flies swarming around the grisly black and gray shivery lines of pee-ew are appropriately gross. This complementary pattern of text-telling and illustration-showing continues as Gianferrari discusses how fungi grow: mycorrhizal fungi's delicate filigree threads connect trees to the "wood-wide web," while sometimes fungi "erupt" from rotting wood. A particularly dramatic illustration shows brown and rust and gray artist's bracket fungi covering a decaying stump. This passion for fungal biology is obvious not only in Gianferrari's use of scientific terms and explanations (in small type) throughout but also in the comprehensive back matter: a glossary that expands text definitions, a discussion of how fungi heal and help, some related facts, a diagram of one mushroom's life cycle, sources, recommended reading, and pertinent online resources. Terrific.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(1) K-3 The multitude of species found in and around Australian coral reefs are showcased creatively in this vibrant alphabet book. Lessac (illustrator of We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, rev. 11/18) uses the A, B, and C pages to introduce big concepts about reef habitats: the types of reefs in the oceans near Australia, the concept of biodiversity, and the biology of corals. The focus then shifts to the animals that live in the reefs, with double-page spreads featuring Lessac's recognizable brightly colored illustrations of an array of animal groups and species in their shallow-water environments. Basic descriptions of familiar creatures such as fish, octopuses, and turtles as well as less-familiar species such as Queensland groupers, kanga nudibranchs, and violet sea apples are presented in larger text, with additional facts in smaller type incorporated throughout the illustrations. None of the letter matches (including X for xanthid crabs) are forced--and many more could have been selected--underscoring the diversity of life in the reef habitats. An appended "spot the fish" challenge encourages readers to revisit the pages, this time on the hunt for specific fish species.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(2) PS Whose Is THAT? series. Illustrated by Kelsey Oseid. Lunde and Oseid's third collaboration stays true to their successful formula, turning this nonfiction picture book into a guessing game that uses eggs to explore different species and teach larger lessons about the natural world. Spreads follow a pattern that young children will quickly grasp: the first spread asks a question ("Whose egg is that?"), the second shows a close-up of the egg, the third pans out and identifies the parent animal, and the fourth gives a few additional facts about the species. Oseid's delicately rendered gouache illustrations provide visual hints. Each page-turn builds in details that reward the alert observer and teach much about the animals' habitats and behaviors. Many young readers will be surprised and delighted to find that eggs come in an array of colors and sizes. Others will enjoy learning how not just birds, but also animals such as platypuses and leatherback sea turtles come from eggs. Pair this crowd pleaser with Aston and Long's An Egg Is Quiet to foster children's curiosity and observation of the world around them.

Reviewer: Adrienne L. Pettinelli | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023