Synopses & Reviews
An Oppenheim Toy Portfolio 2014 Gold Seal Best Book Award Winner
How Do Animals Learn To Swim, Fish, Box, Or Build?
In the forest, in the pond, in caves, prairies, and jungles, in all the worldand#8217;s outdoor and#147;classrooms,and#8221; baby animals areand#133;learning! They are taking lessons on how to be an expert swimmer, alarm-sounder, racer-chaser, or hide-and-seeker. They donand#8217;t have books, or desks, or computers. But they do have teachers!
With clear, graceful prose and striking illustrations, Animal Teachers showcases the teacher-student dynamic between adult and young animals as they are taught crucial skills needed to handle daily challenges.
An entertaining combination of science and storytelling, this instructive title presents skills that a dozen different young animals have to learn.
Will the animals earn an and#147;Aand#8221; for their efforts? No! But a banana or a good hiding place might be even better!
Review
"Twelve vignettes explore the kinds of and#147;lessonsand#8221; that various animal adults teach to their offspring. A kangaroo gives her joey and#147;boxing lessonsand#8221; so he can defend himself, an elephant mother models how to drink water, an orangutan shows her offspring how to stay dry in the rain, and a cheetah teaches her babies to run. Hudsonand#8217;s graceful artwork offers a hint of anthropomorphic tenderness between the animal parents and children, while remaining naturalistic. Readers should especially enjoy prompts inviting them to compare their own behavior with that of the animals: and#147;Do you yip? Can you bark? Or shout? Or yelp? How do you make yourself heard?and#8221; and#151;
Publishers Weekly"Just like human children, animal babies from chicks to bear cubs learn lessons from adults around them.
Spread by spread, the conversational text of this instructive title presents skills a dozen different young animals have to learn and connects them to readers. Two paragraphs describe the learning task: finding whatand#8217;s good to eat; learning to swim, defend, feed and shelter oneself; learning to recognize and make particular sounds. Questions to readers follow. 'Who sings to you?' the narrator asks after presenting information on penguins. Some shared skills may surprise. It takes time for elephants to learn to use their trunks for drinking, just as it does for children to learn to drink from a water fountain. Great apes learn tool use: Chimps crack nuts with stones, and orangutans gather leafy branches for umbrellas. Hudsonand#8217;s realistic pen-and-watercolor illustrations show animal parents and their child or children in their natural environments. (The leafy endpapers are less relevant, showing an unlikely collection of unmentioned though recognizable birds and a few animals, some placed so far toward the edges they will likely be hidden by the cover flaps.) A final spread offers two to four additional interesting facts about each of the creatures described.
Nicely connecting the child to the natural world, this would be a useful opener for a unit about animals as well as a title to share with young animal lovers.(Informational picture book. 4-8)" and#151;Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
What's a great way for kids to learn about learning? Tell them how animal parents teach their young!
Synopsis
Short entries portray how 12 different animals are taught various "lessons." Chicks learn to peck to get their bellies full; a prairie dog pup learns how to spot and warn others about predators; a bottlenose dolphin learns how to recognize its mother's signature call. And just like human kids, what what comes after lessons? Play!
Synopsis
What's a great way for kids to learn about learning? Tell them how an otter takes swimming lessons, or how a chick learns to peck! Short entries portray how twelve different animals are taught various "lessons." Loads of information about nature is offered in brief, kid-friendly explanations paired with striking illustrations.
About the Author
Janet Halfmann: Janet Halfmann is an award-winning children's book author who grew up on a Michigan farm and later became a journalist before forging a career in books for kids. She created coloring and activity books for Golden Books, and her books on animals and nature can be found in the Smithsonian and have informed and inspired many a budding entomologist, future farmer, aspiring veterinarian, etc.
Katy Hudson: Katy Hudson was raised in Middlesbrough, England and started her illustration career as a small child drawing on the walls around her house. Her parents quickly provided a pad of paper to encourage her creativity and dissuade her from that medium. Katy later added paints and ink to her artistic repetoire, studied illustration and graphic communication, and received a BA with Honors from Bath Spa University. She has since illustrated greeting cards, wedding invitations, editorial pieces and children's books.