Laurie Angus

PADDLE PERCH CLIMB: BIRD FEET ARE NEAT by Laurie Ellen Angus is an engaging informational book examining birds and their feet.

Angus uses attractive collage illustrations and simple text to explore seven birds with different foot characteristics such as strong feet for running and flexible toes for picking. The book concludes with an overview of key science facts about each bird along with other useful information for both students and teachers.

Librarians will find this informational book to be useful in the life science curriculum. Feature it in a display with other books exploring the physical features of animals such as those by Steve Jenkins.

Published on March 1, 2018 by Dawn Publications. ARC courtesy of the publisher.… (more)

I love octopuses and I was interested to look at this, but didn't want to purchase it as Dawn titles can be more heavily geared towards school use than what I need for the public library.

This is definitely a winner in the octopus book department though! Simple text, which heavily uses active language "Whoosh! Octopus releases her secret weapon - a cloud of dark ink. She scoots away, still hungry." is paired with chunks of smaller text that offer more information. Colorful collage illustrations are a bit too reminiscient of Steve Jenkins for my taste, but are perfectly serviceable for the text.

Like all Dawn titles, this has copious back matter, basically offering lesson plans for teachers or parents, activities, further information, and more.

Verdict: If you're looking for more octopus books for young cephalopod fans, planning an octopus-themed storytime, collecting resources for teachers, or setting up science projects, this is a great supplementary title to add to your collection.

ISBN: 9781584695776; Published 2016 by Dawn Publications; Borrowed from another library in my consortium… (more)