Amazing Animal Tails

Whether long or short, feathery or furry, an animal’s tail is a fascinating part of its body. Swishing, swinging, slapping, stinging, each tail is a tool that helps the animal survive in its special environment. Amazing Animal Tails, part of the How Animals Use Their Body Parts series, introduces children to the fascinating functions of nine different animal tails. Young readers hear the tales of animal tails and learn they 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