Weird Friends: Unlikely Allies in the Animal Kingdom [Hardcover]

Jose Aruego (Author), Ariane Dewey (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: K and up

In the animal kingdom, you just can't predict who will be friends with whom. One type of bird baby-sits for newborn crocodiles; there is a beetle that cleans a mouse’s house; and a certain fish leads blind shrimp through underwater traffic. In a world full of predators, the most unlikely creatures form alliances to help each other survive.
Although the ways in which these creatures interact might seem outlandish, their behavior is real animal nature. And kids will love learning about funny and fascinating animal friendships around the globe.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Sometimes in the wild, animals you might think could hurt each other actually help each other in surprising ways." Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey provide specific examples of these unusual duos with brief text and humorous pen-and-ink, gouache and watercolor illustrations in Weird Friends: Unlikely Allies in the Animal Kingdom.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3--An introduction to symbiosis. The rhino and the cattle egret, the blind shrimp and its buddy the goby, and the red phalaropes paired with the sperm whale-in all, 14 relationships are described, and many exotic animals are introduced. Certainly, the tuatara and its helpful pal the sooty shearwater will be new to youngsters. The typeface is large and easy to read, and the text is either black or white, depending on the background; pages are awash with color. The pen-and-ink, gouache, pastel, and watercolor illustrations are cartoonlike and kid-friendly, and anthropomorphism is rampant: zebras look puzzled; a shark looks angry; scared mackerels swim toward the safety of home; a hippo looks content to have oxpeckers land on its back, etc. There is a helpful pronunciation guide, and the page on where to find weird friends suggests that one must travel far and wide to locate them. This book fills a niche.
Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152021280
• ISBN-13: 978-0152021283
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 11.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #597,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I have some weird friends too., February 22, 2003

By 

Valerie S. Fowler "valgal00" (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Weird Friends: Unlikely Allies in the Animal Kingdom (Hardcover)

Did you know that the cattle egret can ride on the back of a rhino to warn it of stalking predators? Or that a particular red ant supplies food to a caterpillar in exchange for its honeydew that they, in turn, eat? I never did either, till I read through this cute, educational book by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey.

Friendship is a common theme among children, so playing up the camaraderie of certain members of the animal kingdom with strike a familiar chord with young readers. The down-to-earth language and charming illustrations perfectly bring together education and entertainment.

There are fourteen descriptive pairs of animals in this book, all with full-page illustrations, and a handy pronunciation key for sounding out some of the trickier names. Just because it's informational, don't think you can't sit down and read this to your little one at a whim. When read from cover to cover it makes a great little story with lots of room for discussion. This would also make a great addition to any school library or classroom.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A winner, September 7, 2005

By 

Batgirl (San Diego) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Weird Friends: Unlikely Allies in the Animal Kingdom (Hardcover)

Enough scientific content to be interesting to parents as well as kids, great pictures, well told.