Review by Booklist Review
Lewin adds to his abundant array of animal-themed picture books with this simple offering, highlighted by beautifully realized art. In three-page cycles, readers are offered first a detail of a larger image (a lion's eye, for example, or the antlers of a reindeer) and asked What am I? The following page reveals the full image of the animal against a white background and asks, Where am I? The third page shows the animal in its natural habitat (grasslands, for instance, or tundra). But it's Lewin's art that finally sells the idea: his animals bristle with photo-realistic fur, and they are captured in wonderfully textured environments and positions that make them seem to breathe on the page. Although several of the animals and, even more so, their habitats will be difficult for young readers to guess, the help of an adult can turn the experience into an engaging learning game, and this opportunity for interaction makes it an excellent choice for preschool read-alouds.--Karp, Jesse Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-This easy reader introduces five animals and their habitats. A lion, reindeer, camel, sea lion, and tiger are presented through peekaboolike circles under the heading, "What am I?" A page turn reveals the full creature: "I am a lion. Where am I?" Turn the page again and two lionesses are shown sitting in a grassland. The simple questions repeat for each creature. The illustrations are rendered in watercolor and pencil, but at times too much white space makes the images stark. On the last page, readers see a boy in front of a picture of the planet Earth: "What am I? I am a boy on the beautiful earth," which is potentially confusing. An additional purchase.-Melissa Smith, Royal Oak Public Library, MI (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
First shown a small snippet of an animal, young readers use their observation skills and knowledge to uncover the five animal and habitat pairs (e.g., a lion in the grassland) presented on the following pages. The short, simple question-and-answer sentences lend themselves to beginning readers trying to boost their skills. The pencil and watercolor illustrations are naturalistic and finely detailed. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A straightforward guessing game connects iconic animals to their habitats. In 21 words arranged in simple sentences, Lewin offers emergent readers a pleasing package of wildlife puzzles. Keyhole images open up to double-page spreads of an animal against a white background, which is then followed by a full-page picture of that animal in its natural habitat. Lions rest in the grassland. Reindeer roam the tundra. Two wild Bactrian camels with patchy pelts stand patiently in the desert. A sea otter floats in water on its back, holding a clam. A tiger sprawls on a forest floor. All are depicted in luminous watercolors, lightly outlined with pencil. The animals are rendered in myriad shades of gray and brown; the blues of the ocean and greens of the forest are similarly varied. A culminating page connects these creatures to readers, showing "a boyon the beautiful earth." Behind the smiling boy, a blue marble image of the Earth is oriented so that both North and South America can be seen. The patterned repetition of the title questions and the identifiable images will make even pre-readers feel competent; they'll need only just a little help with the habitat names to master the text. This latest entry in the I Like to Read series can be paired with Lewin's Look! (2012) as natural history for the very young. (Early reader. 2-6)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
