Module 11: What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?

 

Summary

A nonfiction picture book that describes the ways in which different animals use parts of their body (eyes, ears, noses, tails, feet, and mouths).  The book has an engaging question and answer format and lots of new animal facts for children to discover.  There is a supplemental information section at the end of the book that provides additional information about all the animals in the book such as their size, where they live, and what they eat.  Includes beautiful Caldecott Honor illustrations.

APA Reference

Jenkins, S. & Page, R. (2003). What do you do with a tail like this? New York, NY:  Houghton Mifflin.

Impressions

I think this is a fantastic nonfiction picture book for early grades!  It has everything young children like in a book; animals, repetitive text, fun facts, engaging questions, and creative illustrations.  I like that the book includes different animals than we're accustomed to seeing in children's books - you can only take so much of dogs and bears!  The book includes different animals, but nothing so exotic that children are unable to pronounce the names.  I also like the fact that the author did not limit himself to one animal kingdom, but included all kinds of creatures; mammals, insects, birds, fish, etc...  The paper collages of creatures such as a mole, scorpion, eagle, humpback whale, and chimpanzee pop against the white background. 

Professional Review

Not only does Jenkins (Life on Earth, 2002, etc.) again display a genius for creating paper-collage wildlife portraits with astonishingly realistic skin, fur, and feathers, but here on alternate spreads he zooms in for equally lifelike close-ups of ears, eyes, noses, mouths, feet, and tails. Five examples of each organ thrusting in from beyond the pages' edges for each "What do you do" question precede spreads in which the point of view pulls back to show the whole animal, with a short accompanying caption. Visual surprises abound: a field cricket's ears are actually on its legs; a horned lizard can (and does, here) squirt blood from its eyes as a defense mechanism; in an ingenious use of page design, a five-lined skink's breakable tail enters and leaves the center gutter at different points. Capped by a systematic appendix furnishing more, and often arresting, details-"A humpback whale can be 50 feet long and weigh a ton per foot"-this array of wide eyes and open mouths will definitely have viewers responding with wide eyes and open mouths of their own. (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-9)

What do you do with a tail like this? by Steve Jenkins.  [Review of the book What do you do with a tail like this? by Steve  Jenkins].  (2003, January 15,).  Kirkus Reviews.  Retrieved from http://www.flr.follett.com/search?SID=749f3dc05fc82d6f62757c2167c2d5b6.

Library Uses

Create Venn Diagrams using animals from the book.  Using a globe or map, locate the places on earth where each animal from the book lives.

Book cover image from:  http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecotthonors/2004caldecottmedalhonors