Finding Home: Amazing Places Animals Live

Chapters present a window into the home-making habits of 20 species in a friendly, reference-like work that ranges across clownfish, meerkats, puffins, and termites. Conversational prose relates the myriad animals’ homes to modern-day objects and activities. A bald eagle’s nest is compared to the game Jenga, and a wasp’s work is described as akin to origami. The tone stays light even while packing in a lot of information about animals’ diets and habitats, and Unwin has a knack for noting memorable details, for instance describing how a snow leopard’s “long, furry tail wraps around its face like a woolen scarf.” In full-bleed scenes, Desmond employs watercolor, acrylic, ink, pencil, and pencil crayon techniques for an immersive effect that underscores the vastness of Earth’s landscapes and the diversity of its inhabitants. Captions include surprising factoids, and a conclusion further emphasizes conservation. Ages 5–8. (Mar.)