Who Has This Tail?

by Laura Hulbert, Erik Brooks (Illustrator)

Overview

Short and fuzzy, long and scaled: no matter their size and shape, tails aren't just hanging around—they're useful! This fun, informative book invites readers to guess the owner of nine tails, and then turn the page to see the animal and its tail in action.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466823969
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	10/16/2012
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	45 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Laura Hulbert has been an elementary educator for over twenty-five years and is the author of Who Has These Feet? She lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she is currently a learning specialist at Brooklyn Friends School.

Erik Brooks is the illustrator of Who Has These Feet? and the author and illustrator of Polar Opposites. Erik sits on his not-so-visible tail while working, but he would enjoy swinging through the trees like a spider monkey if he could. He lives in Winthrop, Washington.

Editorial Reviews

The concise information does a nice job of demonstrating the many different functions a tail can serve–a gerbil uses it for balance, while an Arctic fox uses it to stay warm. The book closes with a summarizing gatefold matching all the animals with their tails” —School Library Journal

“Brooks' watercolor scenes, which ably highlight both adaptation and environment, will perform well for individual readers and small class groups.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books on Who Has These Feet?

“Brooks's naturalistic yet affable animals will likely inspire readers to take a closer look at their own feet.” —Publishers Weekly on Who Has These Feet?

“The simple text, the colorful illustrations, and the guessing game combine to make this an engaging picture book for reading aloud.” —Booklist on Who Has These Feet?

“Young animal fans will find much to enjoy and are sure to ask for multiple readings.” —Kirkus Reviews on Who Has These Feet?

From the Publisher

PreS-Gr 2—Expanding on the concept presented in Who Has These Feet? (Holt, 2011), this anatomical guessing game, illustrated in soft watercolors, allows readers to try to connect a tail to the correct animal. With a large font and generous white space, the opening spread for each animal asks, "Who has this tail?" while a large, detailed illustration shows only the tail in question. A page turn reveals the answer and a full-bleed spread of the animal in its habitat along with a fact about how it uses its tail. Various animals are featured, including a rattlesnake, a beaver, a spider monkey, and a horse, but all are a challenge to guess out of context on the white backgrounds. The concise information does a nice job of demonstrating the many different functions a tail can serve-a gerbil uses it for balance, while an Arctic fox uses it to stay warm. The book closes with a summarizing gatefold matching all the animals with their tails.—Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA

School Library Journal

Hulbert and Brooks' second pairing (Who Has These Feet?, 2011) sets readers to identifying animals by their tails and learning how those tails help them adapt. The titular question is paired with a two-page close-up of an animal tail. The page turn reveals the entire animal in its habitat, the two-sentence text naming the animal and telling how it uses its tail: "A horse has this tail. A horse uses its tail to flick away flies." But the horse is the most common of the animals presented. The rest will be a challenge, perhaps even for parents, whose toddlers may not be familiar with the physical characteristics of a beaver, a spider monkey, a rattlesnake, a scorpion, a gerbil, a shark, an Artic fox or a peacock. Making it even more challenging is the fact that the tails are shown in isolation against a white background, with nothing to give kids a clue as to size, perspective or habitat. While the final gatefold is rather uninspiring--just a larger, collagelike picture of all the animals that have been seen previously--the flaps of the gatefold are a checkerboard of animal heads and tails against brightly colored backgrounds, allowing for a great matching game. Brooks' watercolor animals are realistic without being frightening, the colors nicely echoing those found in their habitats. A great challenge for kids who have already mastered the basic pets and farm animals. (Informational picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews