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What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? (Caldecott Honor Book) [Hardcover]

Steve Jenkins , Robin Page
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)

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Book Description

March 25, 2003 4 - 8 yearsCaldecott Honor Book620L (What's this?)
A nose for digging? Ears for seeing? Eyes that squirt blood? Explore the many amazing things animals can do with their ears, eyes, mouths, noses, feet, and tails in this beautifully illustrated interactive guessing book, which was awarded a Caldecott Honor.
This title has been selected as a Common Core Text Exemplar (Grades K-1, Read Aloud Informational Text).

Frequently Bought Together

What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? (Caldecott Honor Book) + First the Egg (Caldecott Honor Book and Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book (Awards))
Price for both: $23.86

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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4-Jenkins, this time in collaboration with his wife, has created yet another eye-opening book. Children will learn that lizards can completely break off their tail as a defense and that it will grow back. And, they'll find out that crickets' ears are on their knees. Most fish have two eyes, but some have four, the better to see above and below the water at the same time. These are just a few of the fascinating facts of nature dangled out front to draw readers into this beautifully illustrated book. On each spread, five different animals' tails, ears, eyes, or other body parts, done in vibrant cut-paper collage, appear with a simple question ("What do you do with a- like this?"). The next spread shows the five creatures in their entirety and offers a brief explanation. For example, "If you're an elephant, you use your nose to give yourself a bath." The back pages offer more information for older or more curious readers. This is a great book for sharing one-on-one or with a group.
Wanda Meyers-Hines, Ridgecrest Elementary School, Huntsville, AL
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* PreS-Gr. 2. Here's another exceptional cut-paper science book from Jenkins, this time put together with a partner, and like previous books, it's a stunner. An opening page, clearly explaining how to use the book, is followed by a double-page spread picturing the mouths of several different animals, accompanied by the question, "What do you do with a mouth like this?" The next spread shows each animal in full, explaining in a few simple words how the part functions. Tail, ears, nose, and eyes are covered in the same manner. A picture glossary at the back shows each animal again, postage-stamp size, with an informative note elaborating on the creature's special adaptation. The notes also neatly answer questions that might arise during a reading (Why do horned lizards squirt blood out their eyes?) and add to the interactive aspect of the book. A variety of animals is represented--some (elephant, hippo, chimp) will be comfortably familiar; others (four-eyed fish, blue-footed booby) are of interest because of their strangeness. Jenkins' handsome paper-cut collages are both lovely and anatomically informative, and their white background helps emphasize the particular feature, be it the bush baby's lustrous, liquid-brown eyes or the skunk's fuzzy tail. This is a striking, thoughtfully created book with intriguing facts made more memorable through dynamic art. Tim Arnold
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

  • Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  • Hardcover: 32 pages
  • Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; None edition (March 25, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0618256288
  • ISBN-13: 978-0618256280
  • Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 0.4 x 9.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,031 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

My 3 year old granddaughter loved it. NYM  |  15 reviewers made a similar statement
The cut-paper artwork is beautiful. K. Volz  |  13 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
62 of 63 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars What Do You Review With A Book Like This August 12, 2006
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is breathtaking, a real stand-out visually -- and at the same time grippingly educational and fun for kids. If you want to see that dawning light of curiousity and hunger for understanding in a child that's just learning that it's fun to learn, there's no better book than this one.

The animals are rendered with great richness and depth by (if you look closely) beautiful torn-paper collages. It's so skillfully done by Steve Jenkins that all of the creatures are full of personality, and seem to live in a batik-cartoon world.

The riveting part is how there are so many animals that each have unusual stories revealed through fun and different and interesting body parts. This is not a "first animals" book at all. Rather it gains its fascination by showing how animals make so many different uses of their body parts, uses that go against what you first think.

For instance: A platypus uses its nose "to dig in the mud." But "[i]f you're an elephant, you use your nose to give yourself a bath" [image of trunk squirting water back over elephant's head]. For ears, you learn that a jackrabbit uses its ears to keep cool, and crickets have ears on their knees. A chimpanzee can eat with its feet, and a gecko's feet are sticky so it can walk on the ceiling. And so on.

Engrossing and whimsical from page to page again and again. Just wonderful!

At the end of the book, a section includes a one-paragraph "bio" with additional details about each animal, with the rest of the story on the unique appendage. For example, the chimpanzee has some general description, and also this detail about how they eat with their feet: "Like people, they have an opposable thumb. Unlike us, thy also have an opposable big toe. This allows them to pick up and manipulate things with their feet." This description is obviously way more advanced than the book itself -- but children love to hear more of the story about characters or animals from the adult reading to them, and this book gives you (the adult) the back story for every one of them.

I was floored when What Do You Do with a Tail Like This arrived. Giggly and awed at the same time. The reviews didn't prepare me for how much I'd viscerally like this book the moment I opened it! I cannot recommend this highly enough!
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108 of 114 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A must! July 22, 2004
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have never written a review before, but thought I must write one on this book! I have recently purchased 10 books off of amazon and this one if my absolute favorite! My 4 1/2 yr. old loves it as much as I do. I read it to him in the morning and that night I layed in bed with him asking him questions about the animals in the book and the different things they could do and he got every question right. For example I asked him how many teeth an anteater has and he answered correctly, "None!" Well, I'm off to try to find another book like it!
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32 of 34 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars WHAT A FASCINATING, ORIGINAL WORK November 2, 2006
Format:Hardcover
This, simply put, is a book about tails, animal tails. I also covers ears, noses, feet and a number of other parts of the anatome of animals. The illustrations are detailed, beautiful and very, very eye catching. The text is a wealth of information, simply stated, that is very informative. The child that reads this one with an adult cannot help but learn more and more about the wonderful natural world around them. At the end of the book we have a wonderful paragraph on each of the animals covered in the book, again, wonderful information and quite well presented. The book is quite well constructed and can take quite a lot of punishment from grubby little fingers. Obviously a lot of thought and work went into this one and we should be grateful to the authors. Recommend this one highly.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Great, Informational & Fun to Read Book
It is so good feature to guess the animal that the body parts belong to. I love all the books by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page.
Published 19 days ago by AmazonBuyer
5.0 out of 5 stars Kids love it!
I was excessed from the school I worked in and now I travel to a different school every week to cover assorted classes like a substitute teacher. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Holly
5.0 out of 5 stars Super cute book...
the kids loved this one! They love to guess what will fit with the body parts shown! Great fun for my 3-5 yr. olds!
Published 2 months ago by L. Green
5.0 out of 5 stars What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
This is an excellent children's book that engages the reader as well as give lots of information. I got it on Kindle and maybe that's not the way to "own" the book. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Queen Mary
5.0 out of 5 stars Cute story
My 5 year old son loves this, and my 2 yr old daughter is interested in it. It's a fun read.
Published 5 months ago by CST
5.0 out of 5 stars As a ...
Teacher of preschool and Kindergarten, I am always looking for great books to teach with for my students. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Christie B. Park
4.0 out of 5 stars My first graders loved it! Excellent!
Students in my class loved the book! Why don't you come personally to my elementary school Mr Jenkins and let my little ones meet you! Read more
Published 6 months ago by Joann atomas
2.0 out of 5 stars What Do You Do with A Tale Like This?
I bought the Kindle version. My grandchildren ages 3-11 years old did not like the book. Maybe it just doesn't work in the Kindle format.
Published 8 months ago by Frances
5.0 out of 5 stars awsome and exciting
By far one of the most easy to read and understand childrens book. Keeps me glued to every page, regardless of how many times I read it. Read more
Published 11 months ago
5.0 out of 5 stars An Unexpected Favorite
My short roommates (kids) often gravitate to books about animals. WDYDWTLT manages to weave in very interesting information about a wide variety of animals without making it feel... Read more
Published 15 months ago by RCN4
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