Peculiar Primates: Fun Facts About These Curious Creatures

by Debra Kempf Shumaker, Claire Powell (Illustrator)

Overview

From flossing and howling, to building nests and thumping chests, this delightful follow up to Freaky, Funky Fish explores the amazing things primates do. 

All primates climb and breathe in air. They have big brains and hands and hair. But. . . some live alone, some live in groups. One primate has a nose that droops. Peculiar Primates is an adorable picture book with a scientific—and child-friendly—underpinning. With examples of different primates for each description, as well as extensive backmatter explaining the fascinating science behind their behaviors, this bizarre book captures the wonders of our ecosystem.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762478200
Publisher:	Running Press Book Publishers
Publication date:	10/11/2022
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	260,529
Product dimensions:	11.25(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.45(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Debra Kempf Shumaker loves weird and fascinating facts. When she isn’t reading or writing, Debra enjoys watching Jeopardy or hanging outside with her favorite primates—her husband and three sons. She writes from her home in northern Virginia. Visit Debra online at www.debrashumaker.com. 

Claire Powell is a bestselling children’s book illustrator working in London, UK. She started out designing for big-hitting television brands before an impromptu visit to a children’s book exhibition led her down the path of illustration. A hugely versatile artist, Claire has a talent for creating characters that are brimming with emotion and personality. Visit Claire online at www.claire-powell.com 
 

Editorial Reviews

The minimal text…will pull in reluctant readers and also make for a good read-aloud for the very young. The colorful artwork uses a winning combination of accurate details, sly humor, and expressive, comical facial expressions.”
 —Kirkus Reviews

"Great for a participatory story time or children on their own, this book belongs in every library."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

10/28/2022

PreS-Gr 2—Structured like a field trip notebook, this book has a rhyming text that describes the appearance, traits, and habits of a variety of primates, including human beings. Colorful illustrations fill the spreads and amplify the primate featured in the narrative with additional information. Such standard facts as, "One's face is red/another's blue, some primates sport a fancy do" are covered, but unusual information is also introduced, e.g., "Some primates floss/ to keep teeth clean, while others use the/same latrine." In addition to naming each primate, the information in the illustrations invites readers to linger and explore each page. A section at the end of the book offers more information, and the author has appended lists of websites, books, and videos for further exploration, with a list sources consulted. VERDICT Great for a participatory story time or children on their own, this book belongs in every library.—Frances E. Millhouser

School Library Journal

2022-08-17
The team who produced Freaky, Funky Fish (2021) returns for a primer on primates.

Rhyming couplets provide rudimentary information on chimpanzees, gorillas, howler monkeys, and more. The minimal text—in a bold sans-serif font and with excellent scansion—will pull in reluctant readers and also make for a good read-aloud for the very young. The colorful artwork uses a winning combination of accurate details, sly humor, and expressive, comical facial expressions. On nearly every page, measurements, labels, and brief facts supplement the primary text. A page with the text, “One’s butt is splashed with colored streaks” will have viewers taking in the carefully diagrammed and labeled mandrill anatomy. The recto of this spread is simpler (“Some primates store food in their cheeks”), with one example each of a guenon, patas, mangabey, and macaque—each labeled accordingly—stuffing their faces with fruit. Each page includes a tongue-in-cheek “peculiarity” rating from one to 10. Unsurprisingly, the mandrill— with its side note of “male has a colorful butt to attract females”—scores a 10. Well-researched backmatter offers scientific observations and speculation about unusual appearances and behaviors, plus a few more facts about the highlighted families and about primates in general. The sole spread featuring humans depicts people with varied skin and hair types. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Yes, a barrel of monkeys! (resources for further learning, selected sources) (Informational picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews