Amazing Animal Noses

Feel, squirt, dig, grab, animal noses do more than breathe. Whether long or flat, strange or funny, each different nose is the important tool an animal needs to survive in its special habitat. Amazing Animal Noses, part of the How Animals Use Their Body Parts series, introduces children to the unusual abilities of nine different animal noses. Young readers will learn animal noses truly are amazing. Each title includes many beautiful large, close-up photos.

GR 1-3–These titles provide varied examples of how eyes, ears, and other features help animals in the wild. Nine animals are depicted in full page photos, accompanied by three or four sentences describing notable features. In most cases both physical appearance and func-tion are addressed. The colossal squid’s eyes are “as big as basketballs,” and also help the animal “see better in its deep dark habitat.” (Amazing Animal Eyes) By highlighting just one or two interesting facts on the broader topic, the text is engaging without being over-whelming for younger readers. Photographs fill most of each two-page spread. Most do a good job of highlighting the feature and its function, though a few are less successful, such as the slightly blurred alligator’s tail (Amazing Animal Tails) and the blue whale’s tongue, which is not shown (Amazing Animal Tongues). VERDICT Appealing, if not quite exciting, presentations for browsers.--School Library Journal, November 2024