Diane Lang

This joyous, rhymed celebration of life on earth explains animal classes in a way that children can understand.

The book begins with mammals, from whales and bears to a spread of diverse families in a variety of skin-colors, national dress, and family configurations from two moms to a single dad. The next spread explores birds, with feathers and eggs and the following full-page spread shows a snowy owl in full flight, pouncing on a lemming. Next comes amphibians, with careful drawings of show more their metamorphosis, then reptiles in both wet and dry habitats. Arthropods includes undersea creatures and various bugs, butterflies, and spiders. A stream of "normal" fish are followed a spread of weird fish like eels, seahorses, and rays. The next class is the somewhat odd "water dwellers" including octopus, jellyfish, and a giant squid and sperm whale. Then I learned a new word, which I can't wait to teach to the kids, "detritivores" which includes worms, slugs, and millipedes. A final spread celebrates the place all life has on earth, finishing with a scene at the beach featuring the dark-skinned family who appeared in the first pages.

The rhyming text probably has a specific name, but I just call it "not irritating". "More water dwellers live offshore,/ in tidal pools, on ocean floor./Some cling to rocks, while some float free,/our sandy, salty family." Laberis' colorful art is neither too cluttered nor too minimalist. Readers can easily identify specific species and animals and enjoy the colorful, exciting diversity of life on earth in her illustrations.

Extensive notes fill in the story, explaining food webs, the different classes (the choice of "water dwellers" and "detrivores" makes more sense if you read the notes) and also points out that the rhyming first two lines of each class make a great memory device - teachers take note! There is a quick list of ways you can help the environment, and here is one of the things I really liked about the book - they're almost all things kids can actually control/do. Unlike many books which suggest things like biking instead of driving, or shopping choices that kids don't make, this one has reminders about not feeding wild animals, simple recycling, cleaning up trash, and not putting trash down storm drains. There are a couple books and websites recommended as well.

Verdict: A beautiful and informative book; recommended.

ISBN: 9781481447096; Published May 2018 by Beach Lane Books; Borrowed from another library in my consortium show less

My favorite aspect about _Vulture Verses: Love Poems for the Unloved_, written by Diane Lang and illustrated by Lauren Gallegos, is it takes a non-fiction topic and creatively weaves words and pictures together to create a fun reading experience. Many of the non-fiction books we get for my preschooler are topics that are interesting to him but contain stock photos with uninspiring descriptions. As a result, it's always a joy to find a book where the author and illustrator obviously spent a show more great deal of time thinking about how to best to present the story they're telling.

I really like the illustrations in the book. They're beautifully drawn but very clean and don't overwhelm the page. I also enjoyed the format of a brief poem for each animal followed by several sentences discussing a lesser-known quality of the creature. My 3-year-old son seemed to interact well with the book. When we got to mosquitoes, the text says, "Yes, even mosquitoes have their place. Like many other insects, they pollinate . . ." and my son immediately responded with, "just like bees!"

My only minor quibble with the book, from an adult perspective, is sometimes the rhymes seemed a little predictable. However, I'm not an expert on children's books and my son didn't seem to mind. It's too early to tell if this will become one of his favorite books. However, it's one I would be happy to read multiple times to him.

Note: I received an ebook copy of _Vulture Verses_ via the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program. show less

I quite enjoyed this book of 'love poems for the unloved' as did my son. While the rhymes are not Shakespearean, they make sense to young minds and my son was eager to guess the rhymes. Each poem is whimsical and informative at the same time. The artwork is bright and energetic, with the amazing ability to make even a vulture look appealing. The size and complexity of the images seems just right to balance the lighthearted verses without being too spare The snippets of biology after the love show more poem were an added bonus. I hope to see more books in a similar vein from this author and artist (Diane Lang and Lauren Gallegos).

I received an review copy of this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program. show less

Vulture Verses is so cute! A boy writes love poem valentines to some generally unloved animals telling them how much he appreciates them. Each poem is accompanied by a few sentences on that animal's habits or biology. The poetry is adorable and laugh-out-loud funny, and the information presented is accurate. Species covered include bats, vultures, spiders, roaches, snakes, and more. I'll definitely be buying this book to keep on the shelf.