Bea Reviews Ocean Animals from Head to Tail by Stacey Roderick, illustrated by Kwanchai Moriya

Series: Head to Tail series
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: September 6th, 2016
Challenges:  I Love Picture Books | NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge

Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

This nonfiction picture book uses a playful guessing game to introduce eight different ocean animals and some unique aspects of their bodies. First, readers are shown a close-up illustration of an unusual part of an animal's body and asked to guess its owner: ?What ocean animal has a head like this?? Then the following spread reveals the animal's name (e.g., ?A hammerhead shark!?), along with an illustration of the whole animal in its habitat. There's also a brief description of the animal's traits with a special emphasis on the featured body part. For example, readers learn that a blue whale's mouth contains baleen, which help it capture krill to eat, and that the tail of a seahorse curls so it can hold on to sea plants for stability. Young children will recognize that every animal has its own distinctive features and body parts that help it survive. Author Stacey Roderick has created a perfect beginning exploration of the physical traits of ocean animals that's both engaging and informative. Paper collage illustrations by Kwanchai Moriya in bright, eye-catching colors bring the animals to vivid and appealing life. The fun, interactive nature of the guessing game makes this book ideal for a read-aloud. It would be a terrific addition to an early life-science class on the characteristics of living things or on types of ocean animals. A bonus spread includes information on eight more ocean animals. 

Bea Reviews Dinosaurs from Head to Tail by Stacey Roderick & Kwanchai Moriya

Publisher: Kids Can Press
Format Read: eGalley 
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review 
Challenges: NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge  
Release Date: March 1, 2015
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | 
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

From one dinosaur's head to another's tail, this informational picture book challenges readers to guess which prehistoric creature each of eight different body parts belongs to. (For example, "What dinosaur had claws like this?") For each question, the answer is given on the following spread, with an overview that includes the name of the dinosaur, an illustration of the entire animal in its habitat and facts about the featured body part, such as why it looked the way it did and how scientists believe it was used. The colorful and eye-catching collage illustrations by Kwanchai Moriya offer a unique and friendly approach to the ever-popular subject of dinosaurs. The creatures are a mix of the popular (Tyrannosaurus) and the lesser-known (Therizinosaurus) and allow children the satisfaction of guessing some correctly while learning about others. A pronunciation guide accompanies the first mention of each dinosaur's name. There is also a bonus spread at the end of the book containing a quick look at seven more intriguing dinosaurs. Balancing a captivating picture book experience with just the right level of information, it is an ideal bridge between a basic concept book and a detailed encyclopedic book. It would work perfectly in a group lesson on prehistoric creatures or on animal bodies, with the highly engaging, interactive guessing-game component providing a way of enlivening the classroom discussion. It could also be used individually by higher-level readers as an interesting nonfiction choice or a reference book.