Butt or face? Can you tell which end you're looking at?

ldquo;The animal kingdom," Lavelle notes, "is full of funny faces and funny butts!" Inspired by a Botswanan farming practice of painting eyes on cattle rumps to confuse would-be predators, she enthusiastically invites readers to use their best observational skills to examine a series of photos and determine which part of the body they're perceiving. Scrutinize a snippet, debate its positioning, then flip the page to reveal the truth, along with tidbits of information about the animal itself. The selections truly run the gamut of the animal kingdom: there are poisonous frogs, striped okapis, flashy pelicans, fleshy fish, and armored ants to inspect, and the quizzes range in complexity, sure to stump some of the cleverest competitors. The silly, simple premise is carried out splendidly; younger readers will be entranced by fascinating photos, bright colors, and googly eyes galore, while older readers will appreciate fast-fact boxes, clear explanations, and endless animal puns. The humorous writing is chatty and casual, effortlessly imparting information while also entertaining, and it would lend itself beautifully to a raucous group read-aloud. A clever chart in the back gives additional details about geographical distribution ("where they rest their butts") and snacking habits ("what goes in their faces"). It's the best kind of test, sure to spark lively discussion and loads of laughter for everyone partaking.

Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they're seeing. In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess--but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false "eyes" on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber's rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. "Animal identification can be tricky!" she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: "In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!" (This book was reviewed digitally.) A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author's note) (Informational picture book. 6-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.