We’re Not Weird: Structure and Function in the Animal Kingdom

Spotlighting unique adaptive features, Garland profiles fish, fowl, insects, and mammals whose “special body parts” help them “survive and thrive” just like any other animal that needs “food, air, and water to live.” Fact-filled first-person accounts begin with each animal’s characteristic before the owner reveals itself: “I hope to attract a mate. That’s why I dance and show off my bright blue webbed feet. I am a blue-footed booby.” Realistic earth-toned art with scratchboard textures highlights the attribute described: a star-nosed mole nudges out a worm; a platypus appears with food in its “electro-sensitive” bill. Creatures such as the desert tortoise and narwhal are well-known; others, however, including the tusked babirusa and the crocodilian gharial, make for delightfully atypical picture book fodder. The impressive utility of the features on display reinforces the group’s opening and closing declaration: “We’re not weird.” Facts and a glossary conclude. Ages 4–8. (Jan.)