The collage illustrations are excellent, but the short poems left a lot to be desired. Instead of the forced rhymes, I would have preferred a short prose statement about the usefulness (or lack thereof) for the various animals' patterns. ( )

Ehlert wrote an engaging poetry book about a wide array of animals. The illustrations and short facts about each animal are informative and visually appealing. The facts that Ehlert uses are smart in that they focus on the different colors of spots, shapes, and even movements that the animals make that allow that animal to survive and thrive. I do think that since there are so many animals in this book (which is great) it would be better to read it in increments so the students can focus on retaining information rather than having so much information they can't remember anything. Since the book focuses mostly on spots, I would want the students to see if they can remember and identify the animals based on the spots they learned about. I could also have the students write down a sentence about anything the learned about each animal. ( )

This book is highly engaging as it gives short facts about a wide array of animals. Each of the small blurbs about the animals are written in some sort of rhyming pattern. The illustrations work cooperatively with the rhymes to support what they rhymes are saying. Although the coloring portrayed in the book is not the most realistic, They author did a good job of demonstrating texture in the illustrations as well.

This book would be good a reference point to demonstrate to younger students that the way an animal looks is often functional to their survival. For instance, their coloring might help them to camouflage or help them to attract a mate. Ehlert teaches in an engaging way; however, with just a wide array of animals being talked about, it is challenging to focus or remember all that was discussed making this book challenging in terms of comprehension. ( )

This book talks about the spots, stripes, and patterns of different types of animals. ( )

Themes; Adaptation, Animal Appearance,
Diversity, Survival