Member Reviews
Thank you publishers and Netgalley for an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I thought this was so cute and being that I'm working in the field of Pediatrics, where so many kiddos LOVE animals, I'm glad I picked this arc up. I think having this in a public library or a school library, especially elementary, would help children to understand messages of uniqueness and special talents with using animals they already know about and are super interested in. It was easy to follow and the photos would be engaging to a child.
This poetry collection features some extraordinary animals - a list of superlatives of the author's choosing backed up by facts. Tribute is paid to animals with champion chompers (North American Beavers), Super stinkers (a tie) and other categories like heaviest nest, most artistic, and fastest (land category and air category) The poems are short and whimsical supported by illustrations that capture the essence of the animal and it's superlative.
I thought that these poems were fun and I liked that they were accompanied by facts. It was very playful and not at all dull for a young reader
This delightful collection of poems takes readers on a whimsical journey into the extraordinary world of animals. With a creative and playful writing style, The author brings these fantastic creatures to life, showcasing their unique talents, quirks, and abilities through clever verses and vivid imagery.
Thanks to Netgalley and Kids Can Press for the ARC of this animal poetry book!
I loved this so much! The poems were fun and cute to read, the art was lovely, and the facts about each animal champion were just enough to learn more without being tedious or too long for my 7-year old.
Champion Chompers, Super Stinkers and Other Poems by Extraordinary Animals. By Linda Ashman, Illustrator: Aparna Varma. 2023. Kids Can Press (ARC eBook).
I really appreciated that the poems were written in the voice of the subjects (persona poetry). Kids will enjoy learning about the cheetah, sloth, snailfish, and other animals and they do what they do best: whether they are being the fastest, slowest, or deepest-dwelling animals, the poems and illustrations will make for an entertaining read. There is also a recommended reading list and glossary provided.
I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review—a fun poetry book based on several different animals for kids. The poems are small text and on the longer side for more minor children, so best to be read by better reads.
This book should be a part fo every child's birthday gift, every baby shower gift or even a "I found something I think you'd love" gift. I have read it to so many children of all ages, including my 20 something grandson, and everyone of them loved it. Linda Ashman and Aparna Varma have created a book sure to encourage many children to read more. Isn't that what a children's book is supposed to do? Give this book to a child you love, you won't be sorry.
Ready to play around with poetry rhyme and some good 'ole deductive reasoning? Then you will love this informational book. I loved the author's method of introducing each animal with a poem. Each poem gives clues as to what animal is to be discussed. Each animal is also awarded a superlative title like Largest Mammal. Finally, each animal is discussed in an expository paragraph showcasing information that supports the superlative nomination. I think this book would be immensely engaging to elementary age students. As an adult, I also learned about new animals I'd never heard of before and learned new traits about animals that I had heard of but did not know how extraordinary the creature truly is in nature. The endnotes were decent. Other reading recommendations are included but are for new titles that are similar in nature and not necessarily deeper reading into the animals mentioned in this book. As for educators, I think this book would make a perfect read aloud as the audience will be engaged in deducing which animal matches the superlative. The reader may decide to wait to show the pictures until after the poem had been read aloud as the illustrations will give away the animal. I would also advise to limit which animals you read the informational paragraphs out loud. You want to keep your audience engaged and I suspect that how much you read will depend largely on the age and attention span of the audience. FInally, the illustrations in the book were engaging and life-like. I felt the use of illustration rather than photographs was effective and in keeping with the author's writing style and superlative nominations. This is an all around successful information picturebook.
The format of this illustrated book was a great idea. Mixing poetry with factual content, kids can not only enjoy a creative introduction to wildlife, but also learn a great deal about each species featured in this book. Besides its educational nature, it is also a great way to learn about biodioversity and the need to protect it. Highly recommended!
This is a very cute book with sweet illustrations and charming little poems. I read these with my son and he loved them. What a lovely picture book they helps to make nighttime so much more fun!
Cute illustrations, but not very accurate descriptions. Thank for sending me this e-ARC. I hope next books will be better.
This book provides a fun and engaging way for students to learn about animals. Great illustrations, poems, and animal facts make this a truly unique experience! The kids loved guessing the animals and learned so many new animal facts. We really enjoyed seeing the illustrations throughout. The Table of Contents made it easy to choose which animals we wanted to read each day without having the read the entire book. Excited to add this one to our shelves! Adorable, fun, and educational!
A cute way to introduce animals to children. Each animal wins a prize- stinkiest, fastest, etc! We enjoyed the poems that went with each animal and the fun illustrations. It made it exciting to learn about the animals- both familiar and new!
Not only is this truly an amazing collection of poetry, but this book is packed with facts. This is a story that encourages young readers to read and enjoy more nonfiction. The guessing game format makes it such an interactive read. Children learn the facts about some of the coolest champions around the world, before they reveal themselves. A true gem of the nonfiction and poetry communities!
This book was so fun. The poetry is perfect for reading aloud and kids will love guessing the animals. I actually learned a lot of interesting facts I didn't know before too!
This was such a cute book! So much information in such a fun, well-illustrated book! The facts were interesting and the word choice was engaging. I think students would find this a fun in-class read and it is a great tool to teach about differences in the animal kingdom!
I liked how this book has poems about animals and then a paragraph of information about them. Some categories included fastest flyer, deepest dwelling fish, best engineer, and best undersea artist. The illustratiions are drawn rather than being real pictures.
Very cute poems, I wish they didn't put a picture on the poem... the poem describes an animal and the kid should guess the animal, but with an image of part of the animal, my kid could guess about half of them just from the image and the title.
Still very good poems for the age, very re-readable.
A fun book, essentially a quiz to identify the animal that supposedly wrote the poem. Some are easy and some are not, but overall, readers young and old, will enjoy this book.