Rainforest Romp by Tony Mitton, illustrated by Ant Parker. New York: Kingfisher, 2009. Amazing Animals series. Available now.
I was of two minds about this book. Is it a nonfiction book? Very little information here. But it has no story line, so I guess that's why it's not in the picture book area and has been catalogued in Nonfiction. Three animals, dressed in explorer clothing (not my favorite thing to do with animals) wander through a tropical rainforest, commenting (in poetry) about various animals. The explorers seem to be a dog, a mouse (equally as large as the dog), and a smaller, but fat, bird. (at least they don't try to put shorts or trousers on the bird.)
Each double-page spread features the discovery of a different animal: "The tapir is a mammal. It's hoofed and rather stout. It sniffs for tasty plant life with its clever, stretchy snout." The featured animal on the page is cartoony, but fairly accurately presented. However, the proportions to the rest of the animals/ plants/ explorers in the picture are definitely off.
The fun part of this book comes at the end. Other animals are hiding in the illustrations. Duplicate drawings on the last page encourage the child to leaf back through the book to find them.
Other books in the Amazing Animals series are coming out. One other title is available now: Amazing Animals: Super Safari.
These books would be good for preschoolers or a Pre-K class as introduction to a few unusual animals.
Other Nonfiction Monday posts are located at MotherReader's blog today. Click on the link on top of this post to get there. (It's different, but it works.)
-wendie old
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