Step by Step

May 1, 2018

PreS-K-"Who walks in the mud? A puppy!" Questions set against a background of animals' footprints invite young audiences to guess which baby animal left their print, followed by the answer page illustrating each youngling, with some easier to guess than others from their respective marks. The sweet, realistically portrayed creatures include a duckling, fawn, sea turtle hatching, rabbit kitten, penguin chick, and woolly bear caterpillar, among others. The babies stand out against the creamy beige and other light-colored backgrounds; though, as they are digitally rendered, a few come across slightly glassy-eyed and stiff, especially the toddler on the "Who learns to walk on two feet?" concluding page. At the back, a small glossary supplies more information on each animal, describing their immediate post-birth behavior in a small blurb underneath a picture of each footprint. VERDICT A brief but informative introduction to animal behavior for the littlest naturalists and a fun guessing game for preschoolers.-Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2018
Very young readers trail paths of baby-animal tracks to reveal unique attributes for each. Visual clues planted in soft, light, earth-toned illustrations are accompanied by a prompt to readers to guess each animal. On recto, "Who walks in the mud?" appears above several dog prints and a small pink bone. The verso after the page turn reveals "A puppy" happily wallowing in the mud. A new question on recto introduces the next young animal's characteristic and distinctive footprints to be followed after the page turn by its newborn name. Text next to webbed prints and cloven hoof marks respectively inquire, "Who waddles to the pond? / A duckling"; "Who stands up soon after birth? / A fawn." Readers learn that a sea turtle hatchling "crawls to the ocean," a rabbit kitten "hops from here...to there," a penguin chick "walks in the snow," an armadillo pup "digs holes in the ground," a hermit crab (no special name for its young is given) "wears a borrowed shell," an alligator hatchling "warms up in the sun," a woolly bear caterpillar eats green leaves, an ostrich chick is hatched "from the biggest egg," and an elephant calf "likes to play in water." The final baby, a pale-skinned, pigtailed child with 10 toes and two heels, "learns to walk on two feet." The simple, patterned presentation neatly imparts multifaceted information, and a handy, succinct addendum will encourage second and third views. Effortlessly enlightening. (Informational picture book. 3-6)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 15, 2018
Preschool-K Here is a science book with the aw factor of a playful read-aloud for young children. Each baby animal is introduced with a single who question (Who waddles? Who hops? Who digs? Who wears?) and a set of footprints as a hint to its identity. A turn of the page reveals the animal and starts the guessing game all over again. Words applicable to animal young, such as calf, fawn, hatchling, and pup, introduce descriptive vocabulary to young readers and listeners. After the final baby?a human child?is revealed, the author provides three pages of more detailed information about each animal, paired once again with illustrations of their footprints. The layout of the book is open and clean, with digitally rendered artwork that utilizes a warm palette of browns, greens, and grays. The animals are not anthropomorphized but have a sweetness all the same. Incorporating a guessing game, a tracking guide, babies in motion, and introduction to habitats, this spare book is deceptively busy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)