Customer Reviews

Where in the Wild?: Camouflaged Creatures Concealed... and Revealed

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The moment I picked up "Where in the Wild?", I stepped into a world of wonder due to the appealing and interactive nature of this book. Engaging shape-poetry and spectacular photography give this book playful and sophisticated qualities. Readers are challenged to use artful and informational context clues to uncover the disguised animals throughout the book. The personality of this book draws in all readers, not just children. Definitely a literary treat for all ages.

"Where in the Wild?" combines thought provoking poetry, stunning pictures, and informative non-fiction facts into one book that will mesmerize kids and challenge adults. It is a great book for teachers to aid in science and literature instruction as well as for parents to enhance their child's education at home in an extremely entertaining way. This book should be in every child's or elementary teacher's library. It is such a interesting book that when I'm not using it in my classroom, I plan to display it as a coffee table book. You have to see the book's detail to appreciate its beauty.

In this exceptional integration of language, photography, and informational text, poetic verse introduces the animals hidden in their natural environments. These descriptive clues will lure readers into the intriguing photos to locate the camouflaged animal. With a flip of the page, each animal is highlighted against the photos' backgrounds, where more information about the animal awaits.



Reviewer's Name: Deb Marciano

Very fun photography and information about camoflauged animals. My girls, ages 4 and 8, both enjoyed this book.

Being able to disappear into their surroundings is a necessary skill for many animals. Camouflage helps them find prey or keeps them from becoming another predator's dinner. As this book shows, their ability to blend into their surroundings is pretty amazing.

Each page consists of a clever or elegant poem paired with a beautiful photograph. The rhyme offers clues to help the readers locate which animal is being cleverly camouflaged by the flowers and foliage. And I do mean cleverly! You'll have to look very closely, as these guys are masters of disguise. Luckily for clueless parents, the photo page lifts up, revealing an identical photo beneath with the backgrounds grayed out, so the hidden animal is instantly revealed.

In addition to providing the answer to the puzzle, the opposing page folds out to reveal fascinating facts about each animal's natural history and how it relies on camouflage to survive. Brightly colored tree frogs have poisonous skin that predators won't eat. Gray Tree Frogs are non-toxic, so they rely on their rough gray-green skin to blend seamlessly against tree bark. Crab Spiders completely disappear when perched on yellow flower petals, and Green Snakes look just like thick blades of grass.

Several paragraphs of information on eleven different animals makes this a fairly substantial read. Beautiful photography, fun rhymes and a game of hide and seek combine to become an incredibly enjoyable book of nature. Younger children will enjoy finding the animals, while older kids will be more apt to learn more about these animals that are able to hide in plain sight.

From the first page, I was drawn in by the beautiful photographs. Captivated by the challenge of locating the camouflaged animals. And intrigued by the information about each one. I agree, for the child, adult or coffee table...this is a stunning and wonderful treat.

Great book for children to try to find animals that are camouflaged well in natural settings in woodlands.

My third graders fight over this book! I am going to buy more copies so that more can share it at one time! The combination of excellent poetry set in eye grabbing fonts and shapes, with the camouflaged photographs intrigues and fascinates. What a great way to introduce and involve students in poetry.

I bought this book to share with my niece (age 6) and nephew (7) during a recent visit. They loved it, especially my niece, who asked at least a dozen times to read it (using "read" loosely, since it's really photos and you have to find the camouflaged animal). Even I had some trouble the first time through finding the critters, and the book is genuinely inspiring in terms of the wisdom in nature and the importance of respecting the earth that supports it. I recommend this book without reserve!

THis gift for a 7 year old boy was a big hit! Photos and explanations of camoflaged animals are truly inspired.