This is a classic case of using the gross or grim to get children to engage with the educational. Decomposition is disgusting. It's also fascinating and absolutely necessary. I have to give Halls a lot of credit. The exploration is clinical and straightforward. She doesn't dwell on the grosser details. She uses technical terms and lays out the process scientifically. One might complain ti's a bit too clinical. The vocabulary could be a bit challenging.
We meet a wide variety of scavengers and the stages at which they are likely to feed on a corpse. Educational and engaging.

When I saw the cover of this book, I thought it would be a good one for boys. I am always looking for ways to entice boys to read and what better way than animals that eat dead stuff. Death Eaters: Meet Nature's Scavengers by Kelly Milner Halls is a middle grade nonfiction book that shows a lot about decomposition and the many animals that assist with that.

This book is not a fun read, but the subject matter is fascinating, and important. Death eaters come in all shapes and sizes, live on land, in the air and in the sea. I knew about some of them, but not all. Everyone has probably seen maggots and vultures, but I did not realize that raccoons also ate the dead. I found this book to be well written and organized. The text will be difficult for younger readers, but middle grades should be all right with it. I like how this book not only shows and tells about decomposition, but how that is helpful to other life. The ending anecdote from the author finding a dead kitten, shows children that as much as death is sad, there can be meaning in that death. The photos in the book are quite good and give some up close pictures of various death eaters. There is also a good glossary and resources at the book for further investigation. This is a good book for schools and classrooms, especially when studying animals, life cycles, habitats etc. The publisher, Millbrook Press, generously provided me with a copy of this book to read. The rating, opinions and ideas are my own.

Death Eaters: Meet Nature's Scavengers by Kelly Milner Halls is a middle grade nonfiction book that gives an in depth look at decomposition. Many animals eat the dead. In fact, these creatures make up Earth’s most important cleanup crew. As a vital part of nature’s circle of life, scavengers feed on the bodies of the dead to keep our planet free from death’s debris. These death eaters come in all sizes—from tiny flies to massive bears and sharks! Meet more creatures who live by eating the dead in this up-close look at nature’s death eaters.

Death Eaters: Meet Nature's Scavengers might not be the most cheerful read, but the subject matter is fascinating, important, and hopeful in its own way. I thought I had a good grasp of that happens in decomposition, and what animals were hunters or scavengers. I was mostly right, but learned a few things that really surprised me about what certain insects and animals will eat. I found the book to be well written and organized, it is interesting and gives a matter of fact look at the way nature finds a purpose for everything. While death might be an end, it is also a source of life for other creatures, which carries some hope and light in its own way. The read was fascinating, and I look forward to following up on some of the sources cited and suggestions for further reading.

The cover is what grabbed my attention. The information in-between the covers kept it. The older I get, the more I realize I know NOTHING and books like this always re-inforce that realization and help to make me learn just a little bit more than I did before I read the book.

The part about the blowflies made me gag, not going to lie. I HATE flies and that was kind of ew, but also interesting to know. I had no idea that skunks and squirrels ate carrion, I thought it was just vultures and bugs, with the occasional mammal like hyenas, but nope, most animals given the opportunity will eat whatever they can find. Dead animals are easier to hunt than live ones.

As with any nature book, humans pop up as idiots who have no place in the world other than to kill the rest of it off. In this instance, turkey vultures are erroneously thought to be livestock killers and eaters, so to stop them, humans kill the birds first. Can we please just educate as many humans as possible so we don't kill things off that actually have a helpful role in the ecology? Just ONCE can humans NOT turn to killing nature as an answer. I swear, these books make me hate humanity.

This is a well written book with many bright and clear (and sometimes gross) pictures of the topic. Great for middle grade and the precocious grade school reader interested in "gross" things and nature.

5 stars, highly recommended!

My thanks to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group Millbrook Press for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

The title and cover of Death Eaters definitely catch the eye., but what about what's inside? One word - AMAZING! I was worried this would be one of those books with big type and sensational pictures, but not much substance. This book is filled with facts that educates the reader of the necessity of scavengers for the benefit of all of us. Information is presented in a matter of fact way with the science being front and center. Students will appreciate this book for its interesting subject matter rather than being "entertained" by the book. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to do an advance read.