Animals in Surprising Shades: Poems About Earth's Colorful Creatures

by Susan Johnston Taylor, Annie Bakst (Illustrator)

Overview

A 2025 Eureka! Nonfiction Book Award Honoree - Gold

A 2024 CBC Teachers Favorite Award Winner

A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year selection (2024)

Named a 2024 Outstanding Science Trade Book by the NSTA/CBC

For young poets who love science and young scientists who love poetry, this thoughtful collection of poems about fascinating and colorful creatures found throughout the world invites readers to linger and wonder on every page.

Learn why the Blue-footed Booby puts on a special dance or how the Picasso Bug uses its masterful chemical defense against predators. Explore simple and fun poetic forms like the tanka, haiku, and quatrain. Just be sure to take good notes! An interactive component rewards practicing poets seeking to challenge themselves further.

With gorgeous illustrations and a rainbow of colors to complement the lyrical and engaging text, this book will fit nicely on the shelves of any classroom or library where kids are interested in science, writing or the arts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781957655048
Publisher:	Gnome Road Publishing
Publication date:	03/28/2023
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	6 - 10 Years

About the Author

Susan Johnston Taylor writes for kids and adults. Her magazine articles have appeared in Dramatics, FACES, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, Scout Life, and many others. A strong believer in the power of poetry, Susan co-teaches a summer poetry camp through Austin Bat Cave, an Austin, Texas-based nonprofit that offers writing programs for kids and teens. In addition to Colorful Creatures, she has written several children's books for the educational market. To learn more about Susan visit http://www.staylorwrites.com.

Annie Bakst is an artist, illustrator and designer based in Vermont where she has found the perfect space for creating art. She has illustrated graphic novels, children's books, and murals, and has participated in several gallery shows. Annie's work has won numerous national design awards and a NYC regional SCBWI illustration award. For more about Annie visit http://www.anniebakststudio.com.

Editorial Reviews

"This engaging collection of poems explores science and literature to describe some of the world's more colorful creatures. Short, inviting poems geared for elementary students combine clever and engaging phrasing with facts about the creatures described. For instance, "Pink Manta Ray" begins: "In a/ sea of teal,/ a blink of pink!" Text on the opposite side of the spread explains that a pink manta ray was first spotted in 2015 and shares scientists' theories about the creature's unusual coloring. The poem is written in the shape of a manta ray, and a separate block of text notes that "A concrete poem takes the physical shape of the subject, like this manta ray." Other poetic forms, such as haiku, tanka, and quatrain, are used and defined with other poems. An interactive component quiz challenges practicing poets further by asking, mid-book, "Can you match the poems on the pages that follow with the correct poetic form presented in the first part of this book?" Answers are in the back, along with a glossary and a list of sources. Poems are accompanied by bright and engaging illustrations described as "traditional gouache drawing and paintings.enhanced digitally in the artwork of each page." These colorful spreads are a lovely complement to the lively poems. This combination of science and poetry should delight young readers, encourage young writers, and spur interest in young scientists. VERDICT A STEAM-themed poetry collection that should have broad appeal for young readers and will be a welcome addition to the shelves. Recommended."-Carole Phillips, School Library Journal

From the Publisher