Sara Levine (2) (1966–)

This very clever and fun book shows how different living creatures are similar and different by posing questions on one side of a page that are answered on its reverse. For example, she asks, "What kind of animal would you be if your finger bones grew so long that they reached your feet?"

On the next page, we discover the answer.

Or, “What if you didn’t have any arm or leg bones? What kind of animal would you be if you had just a skull, vertebrae, and ribs?” Or: “Now let’s keep all show more of your bones but change the size of some of them. What kind of animal would you be if you had really big vertebrae in your neck?”

Amusing and imaginative illustrations by the pseudonymous T.S. Spookytooth are colorful and funny and just right for kids. For each “what if” he shows little boys and girls with bodies distorted by the proposed changes.

My favorite is this one: Next to one puddle of a boy the author asks, “Could you be an animal if you didn’t have any bones at all?” (“Yes!” is the answer: “Many animals don’t have bones. They’re called invertebrates.”)

The questions are hugely intriguing and will delight children, stimulating their imaginations and teaching them something at the same time.

Highly recommended!

Evaluation: The author, a veterinarian and assistant professor of biology in Boston, teaches classes on plants and animals for kids. It is clear she knows what kids find entertaining. (I.e., kids and husbands, one of whom, who shall not be named herein, insisted on going through the whole book and guessing the answers for each page.) This is another book I could hardly pull away from the young readers in our lives, who in addition to reading it, felt the need to act out each possibility. show less

Sensitive by Sara Levine is about a nameless girl repeatedly being told she is too sensitive, she needs to grow thicker skin, or to stop being such a baby. Another thing others say is that her feelings frighten people. It is an excellent point to make to children that their emotions might confuse or frighten others and cause them to say hurtful things because they don't understand them. The book describes how dismal everything people said made the girl feel. The words "jostled and tumbled" show more inside her; what a perfect depiction! The girl found that if she spent quiet time alone doing the things she enjoyed, it helped. She then discovered that she could write down her emotions, which soothed her further. The book is straightforward and stellar in its portrayal of this issue. The illustrations are superb. The author includes a sweet note at the end explaining more about 'sensitive people' and ideas for coping. There is a link to a lovely activity about the book. This story will help sensitive children, or those with other outside-the-box emotions, to feel that they are also normal and maybe even special people.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for the ARC of this book. show less

This is a wonderful book for younger kids to get acquainted with all those microscopic creatures that can't be seen with the naked eye: viruses, bacteria, protozoa and fungi.

The information about each is comprehensive, right up to pronunciation guides to visual recognition clues. The accompanying illustrations are wonderful in their clarity and scope. I might be the only weirdo who actually looked at all those images of creepy organisms and went "How cute!!" But that's how adorable the show more pictures were! :D A perfect complement to the information provided.

The information is presented in as simple a manner as possible for such a topic. but of course, in spite of its being a simple hardbound picture book, I doubt much of the information will be understandable to really young readers. Slightly older children, however, could find this fascinating.

I'm giving this book 4 stars only because of the age-content mismatch. By itself, the book content and illustrations well deserve a 5 star rating.

I received an advance review copy of the book from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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It was a good read-aloud possibly as it had a question on the right-hand page and you had to flip to find out why it had which set of teeth. It gave lots of vocabulary about tooth names and what the purpose of size and number of each of those types of teeth would be. The glossary in the back could be helpful if a student was reading it on their own. I could also see if this was a class read0aloud, creating our own vocabulary list would be beneficial. I tried to find an easier read for maybe show more younger students or just a good read-aloud in general. The book was fine, it could be engaging if you make it engaging but it doesn't quite carry itself. show less