Spectacular Spots / Magn ficas manchas

by Susan Stockdale, Susan Stockdale (Illustrator)

Overview

A patterned parade of spotted animals leaps to life!

What kinds of animals have spots, and why do they have them? To scare predators, hide more easily, or warn enemies to stay away? In this bilingual English-Spanish picture book, award-winning author-illustrator Susan Stockdale explores nineteen spotted animals from around the world, each depicted in their native habitats. Her bright, detailed paintings help show the many reasons spots are found in nature.

Back matter tells a little bit more about each animal, and readers can test their knowledge of animal spots with a fun matching game at the end.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682633687
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	10/05/2021
Edition description:	Bilingual Edition
Pages:	22
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 5.90(h) x 0.48(d)
Age Range:	1 - 3 Years

About the Author

Susan Stockdale began her art career as a textile designer for the apparel industry, providing her an opportunity to express her love of pattern and color. Today, pattern and color remain central to her work as the author and illustrator of critically acclaimed picture books that celebrate nature. Her books have won a variety of awards including the ALSC Notable Children's Book, NCTE Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts, NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12, and the Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year. Susan lives in Maryland with her husband and is a popular speaker at schools and conferences.

Editorial Reviews

". . . a spot-on animal gallery for budding naturalists."—Kirkus Reviews

"This beautifully illustrated picture book celebrates creatures with spots, ranging from 'singing quails' and 'gliding snails' to 'clinging frogs' and 'dozing hogs.'"—Booklist

"An attractive, briefly informative, fun offering for the curious of mind."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

04/01/2015
PreS-Gr 1—A simple, rhyming text graced with large, colorful acrylics provides a wide window into the physical characteristic of spots in the natural world. Relying on minimalist text ("crawling crabs," "chasing cheetahs," "napping fawn") and a painterly hand, Stockdale introduces a variety of creatures, some of which will be familiar to the intended young audience (think horses and ladybugs), others of which will be exotic and intriguing (calico crabs, helmeted guinea pigs). Parents and educators will find the back matter useful. A brief paragraph about each animal provides a smidgen of further information, including why these creature have spots (to warn, camouflage, intimidate), while a concluding game asks, "Can you find the animals that belong to these spots?" VERDICT An attractive, briefly informative, fun offering for the curious of mind.—Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

2015-01-10
In this companion to the animal gallery in Stripes of All Types (2013), Stockdale focuses her spotlight.Clustered in big, flat, cleanly drawn scenes reminiscent of Nancy Tafuri's, creatures from leopard to sea slug, fawn to ladybug pose in artfully variegated natural settings that suggest how spots can be useful as either camouflage or (for poisonous animals) a bright warning display. The accompanying rhyme, split into just a phrase per page, offers general identifications—"Spots on snakes / and gliding snails. // Swimming turtles, / singing quails"—that are backed up at the end by specific (if spotty) notes on names, habitats and distinctive features. Stockdale chooses not to explain what functions the spots on Dalmatians, Holsteins, hogs and some other animals here may serve, nor does she provide a speck of a lead to further information. Still, she does round off with a visual pop quiz (over upside-down answers) that will prompt young viewers to revisit the illustrations for closer looks. Despite a blotch or two, a spot-on animal gallery for budding naturalists. (Informational picture book. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews