When Elephants Listen With Their Feet (Discover Extraordinary Animal Senses)
Author: Emmanuelle Grundmann
Illustrator: Clémence Dupont
Pajama Press
Ages: 8-12 Years Old
I’m putting this one in the “coffee table books for the middle grade set” category. Which is not necessarily a good thing, but not necessarily a bad thing either. Not an encyclopedia, but maybe an illustrated primer on some of the wild and interesting things animals can do with their senses, WELWTF has an abundance of information for budding scientists to pour over should they want to engage in some animal exploration.
There is no discernible story, and only a very loose organizational structure (e.g. Superhero Animals, Good Vibrations, On the Nose, etc.) yet, the book’s charming illustrations do lure you in and the accompanying text does provide interesting, if not perfunctory data:
An echnida‘s muzzle isn’t just a mouth and a nose, it’s also an electrical
signal detector. The long beaked echnida has 2,000 cells that specialize in this function;
the short beaked echnida, which lives in drier areas has 400. They both use their
detectors to help find termites, mice and worms to eat.
Those looking for more in-depth animal coverage will have to look elsewhere, but those looking for a quick animal survey may find the book somewhat satisfying. It does, after all, provide an overall theme of sense exploration–certainly a good place to start a more serious inquiry.
When Elephants Listen With Their Feet (Support an Independent Bookseller)*
When Elephants Listen With Their Feet (Amazon)*
More books for this Age Group can be found here.
My thanks to Pajama Press for providing a Review Copy of this book. All opinions provided herein are my own.
Please, leave comments! I love a HEALTHY exchange of ideas. After all, critical thinking is essential to life.
*When something is purchased using one of our affiliate links, we may earn a small commission. We do not accept any monies for any editorial reviews. Our opinions, to the chagrin of many, are our own.