Fur, Feather, Fin: All of Us Are Kin

“All animals on Earth are kin,/ while not the same outside or in./ Some we stroke with loving hand;/ some we don’t yet understand,” writes Lang in this uplifting celebration of life that identifies and groups animals according to their taxonomic class. Laberis renders the animal groups in a warm, naturalistic style. One spread features a series of mammal mothers and offspring—a bear and cubs, a cat nursing kittens, and a whale and calf. Other spreads show a small number of animals within their natural habitats, including a spider in its web, a frog and tadpoles in a pond, and an octopus in its den. Lang highlights the biodiversity of her subjects through her vivid verses: “Detrivores, so oft forgotten,/ dine on things both dead and rotten./ Worms and bugs make their dessert of rot into the richest dirt./ Underground or deep in bark…/they’re heroes of the damp and dark.” One spread features a diverse group of human families (“yes, we’re mammals, too!”), emphasizing the interconnectedness of all living things. Ages 3–8. (May)