David L. Harrison has published more than eighty books, has been a
keynote speaker or presenter at 265 state, regional, and national
conferences in 30 states and has an elementary school named after
him. David's first book for children, The Boy with a Drum (Golden
Press), was released in 1969 and has sold two million copies.
Giles Laroche has illustrated many children's books and both wrote
and illustrated If You Lived Here- Houses of the World (Houghton
Mifflin). Every illustration he makes involves drawing, cutting,
painting, and gluing--and often has seven or eight layers.
www.gileslaroche.com
Twelve poems present a variety of animal homes and mate-attracting
constructions. Arachnids (trapdoor spider, garden spider), birds
(red ovenbird, white stork), fish (stickleback, pufferfish),
insects (termite, paper wasp), mammals (star-nosed mole, beaver,
prairie dog), and a reptile (the king cobra) are each introduced by
way of a double-page spread and a simple two-to-eight stanza poem.
In four sections—building underground, on land, in the water, and
in the air—animals are shown building webs, nests, food traps, and
tunneled homes, along with their mates, eggs, or young. Laroche's
layered, cut-paper illustrations are clear and intriguingly
detailed, handsomely supporting the informational content of each
poem. Rich colors and varied textures allow this 3-D original
artwork to work well in two dimensions. Harrison's poems employ
varied voices, rhythms, and formats; all are memorable and easy to
understand. Some are humorous: a busy stickleback male appeals to a
potential mother of his family: "The best nest / that's ever been!
/ Please, / Ms. Stickleback, / swim in." Backmatter gives each
animal an explanatory paragraph and, for several, a suggestion of
books for further exploration. The author's and illustrator's own
sources are not indicated. A bonus poem and terrific illustration
on the last page describe "A different kind of builder," sun coral,
which creates coral reefs by congregating together. A fine
synthesis of poetry and science.
— Kirkus Reviews
In 12 playful rhyming poems, Harrison explores the architectural
feats of animals that build homes for themselves on land, in the
water, and up in buildings and trees. A white-spotted pufferfish
attempts to impress a potential mate (“Tiny sculptor/ thinks
grand,/ builds a nest/ out of sand/ forty times/ his own size/
trying to/ attract a prize”), while a red ovenbird spends months
creating a domelike dwelling (“How do you know/ to weave/ like
that?/ With grass and hair/ and leaves/ like that?”). Laroche’s
cut-paper illustrations, created with handpainted papers, lend a
real sense of depth and dimension to the creatures’ layered homes
of grass, leaves, and other organic material; closing notes discuss
each animal in greater detail, and a bonus poem looks at the growth
of coral reefs. An inviting introduction to a dozen industrious
creatures.
— Publishers Weekly
Lively rhymes and arresting cut-paper collage illustrations are an
appealing combination in this introduction to a variety of animals
that build homes. The animals are grouped by where they build
homes; for example, paper wasps and storks build homes “in air,”
while sticklebacks and puffer fish build homes underwater. The
poems vary nicely in structure, and while some are more successful
than others, they are, overall, approachable and gently
informative. Complementing the text, Laroche’s superb collage
illustrations offer additional views of the homes described in the
poems and are rich with detail, from the meticulous scales on the
king cobra to the multicolored, individually cut branches and logs
making up the beaver’s den. A cutaway section of a termite’s nest,
revealing the cast network of tunnels within, is particularly
engrossing. For readers looking for eve more information, the back
matter provides additional commentary about each creature and the
way it builds its home. A natural for classroom use, with
eye-catching art that will lure little ones in.
—Booklist
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