Some animals hide in the sand, like the desert lizard, whose scales can resemble pebbles and stones. Others hide in the sea, like the peacock flounder, who can also change color. And some, like poison dart frogs and the scarlet king snake, don’t try to hide at all! Most animals have developed clever tricks to survive, but not all excel at camouflage the way these animals do. From moths whose wings resemble dead leaves to eponymous stick insects, from a lizard that looks like a tree stump to the ghost pipefish you’d mistake for a coral reef, the range of colors, patterns, and techniques captured here demonstrates how animals across myriad environments can disguise themselves. Melding a simple narration with more detailed facts on a variety of creatures—including sandgrouses, gerbils, Arctic foxes, and butterflies—this fascinating picture book also offers a brief note on animal camouflage in the back matter.
- Books
- Kids Nonfiction
- Find Out About Animal Camouflage
Find Out About Animal Camouflage
Author(s)
Publisher
Age Range
4+
Release Date
October 17, 2023
ISBN
978-1536228366
Buy This Book
Editor reviews
2 reviews
Animal defensive mechanisms
Overall rating
5.0
Writing Style
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
5.0
Learning Value
5.0
As a defensive mechanism, animals have learned how to camouflage themselves to hide from predators who might want to eat them. Some animals blend and look like leaves, while others look like sticks or rocks. Some don't hide at all because their vibrant colors are enough to scare predators off. In nature, bright patterns usually mean poisonous and other animals have learned this.
FIND OUT ABOUT ANIMAL CAMOUFLAGE is an educational book that teaches children about how animals have adapted to their environment to protect themselves. The illustrations are soft yet detailed with lines and colors. In the back of the book, there's a bit more about animal camouflage and an index to make referring back to their favorite animals easier. Camouflage is a defensive mechanism that many people don't think about so it's fascinating to see how these animals blend in so perfectly.
Final Verdict: I would recommend this to little fans of animals and their behaviors. It adds character to animals we might see daily like butterflies.
FIND OUT ABOUT ANIMAL CAMOUFLAGE is an educational book that teaches children about how animals have adapted to their environment to protect themselves. The illustrations are soft yet detailed with lines and colors. In the back of the book, there's a bit more about animal camouflage and an index to make referring back to their favorite animals easier. Camouflage is a defensive mechanism that many people don't think about so it's fascinating to see how these animals blend in so perfectly.
Final Verdict: I would recommend this to little fans of animals and their behaviors. It adds character to animals we might see daily like butterflies.
Animal Hide and Seek
Overall rating
5.0
Writing Style
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
5.0
Learning Value
5.0
Conservation biologist Martin Jenkins blends a simply worded story of animals who blend into their surroundings with side nostes about particular animals and the methods they use to evade detection. From animals who hide in different locations to animals that imitate flowers, sticks, or other items, we see how clever these animals are, and how hard it would be to find them. Animals who stand out because they are poisonous also are mentioned, and I was glad to know that scarlet king snakes can look like their poisonous cousins, the coral snake!
Good Points
McGuinness' mixed media illustrations have a colored pencil quality that I loved, and captured the hidden quality of the animals in their natural backgrounds so well that I had to look twice and the pictures and refocus my eyes in order to see them sometimes! I didn't know that there were praying mantises that looked like flowers, and I can see young children wanting to look many of these animals up online to see photographs of them. I'm sure they would be able to compare the drawings very favorably to the real thing.
Younger readers will be content to follow just the large, single sentence story, but older ones will want to read all of the notes describing the different animals and insects that are portrayed, which gives this book a lot of staying power. I appreciated that there was an index in the back, since it is never too early to acquaint young readers with the parts of nonfiction texts.
I remember being enthralled by the idea of arctic hares after I read Asheron's The Three Coats of Benny Bunny, so it's always a good idea to get children interested in science topics. Animals are a great place to start. Jenkins has a number of titles, including Animal Homes and Animal Babies, and the consistency of format will make young readers want to check out all of the titles. This is also a good companion to Collard's Hopping Ahead of Climate Change, Jenkins' Look Again, or Arnosky's I See Animals Hiding.
Younger readers will be content to follow just the large, single sentence story, but older ones will want to read all of the notes describing the different animals and insects that are portrayed, which gives this book a lot of staying power. I appreciated that there was an index in the back, since it is never too early to acquaint young readers with the parts of nonfiction texts.
I remember being enthralled by the idea of arctic hares after I read Asheron's The Three Coats of Benny Bunny, so it's always a good idea to get children interested in science topics. Animals are a great place to start. Jenkins has a number of titles, including Animal Homes and Animal Babies, and the consistency of format will make young readers want to check out all of the titles. This is also a good companion to Collard's Hopping Ahead of Climate Change, Jenkins' Look Again, or Arnosky's I See Animals Hiding.
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