What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? (Caldecott Honor Book) (Hardcover)

~ (Author), (Author) "Animals use their noses, ears, tails, eyes, mouths, and feet in very different ways..." (more)

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

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (March 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439703840
• ISBN-13: 978-0618256280
• ASIN: 0618256288
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 9.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,535 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #2 in	Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Zoology
  #4 in	Books > Children's Books > Basic Concepts > Sense & Sensation
  #8 in	Books > Children's Books > Animals > Nonfiction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

91 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must!, July 22, 2004

By	Mother of 4 (Abu Dhabi, UAE) - See all my reviews

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!

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What Do You Review With A Book Like This, August 12, 2006

By	Joseph King (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WHAT A FASCINATING, ORIGINAL WORK, November 2, 2006

By	D. Blankenship (The Ozarks) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.