Champion chompers, super stinkers and other poems by extraordinary animals

Set up to be a guessing game that starts out easy but gets progressively tougher, Ashman's latest presents 20 creatures in what the author dubs "mask poems" (meaning first person but with an assumed persona). Each turn of the page present a paragraph of basic facts, plus a reward such as "Best Engineer," for the aforementioned beaver, or, in a toss-up between the Eurasian hoopoe and the striped skunk, "Stinkiest Animal." Varma plays along by pairing tantalizing portions of each animal with their poem and then one or more full-body specimens overleaf--generally depicted smiling, if otherwise fairly accurate, and often posing with younglings. Only some of the animals here are officially endangered, but the author closes by urging readers to protect the ones that are, in the cause of preserving biodiversity. She also tucks in notes on the practical difficulties of measuring how fast animals run, how much they weigh, and the like, plus the ins and outs of her poetic technique. A savvy combination of STEAM-centric approaches.

Gr 3--5--Poetry meets nonfiction in a skillfully designed and fun-to-read compendium. An opening call to animal contestants moves right into a guessing game for readers, featuring 19 familiar and lesser-known air, land, and water animals. "Think you're tops? The most? The best?" Facing the challenge, the righthand page sets a pattern with a hind view of a spotted animal tail and its blank verse poem titled "Eat My Dust." When readers turn the page, they find a full view and name of the cheetah, its champion trait of "Best Short-Distance Runner," and a paragraph explaining how this body is designed for lightning speed. Next up, on this facing page, a new partial view and poem. Simple, homely sketches of the animals are softly brushed with color, some set in white space and others in a bit of suggested background. Poems range from short-rhymed verses to nicely shaped lines, sometimes with embedded rhyme, flowing down the page. The closing page thanks the animals and reminds readers to watch for creatures in their world. The intriguing theme of "astounding feats and features" of animals and the nice flow of text invite reading. Back matter offers possibilities for further use of both poetry and science. A page on protecting endangered animals is followed by a bit of explanation about the work of scientists in measuring animal characteristics and a paragraph on mask poetry. "Recommended Reading" lists books of poetry about animals, while the glossary is all science terms related to animals. VERDICT Put this multifaceted package on the science shelves, and use it often and variously.--Margaret Bush

In personified mask poems, animals boast about their claims to distinctions like biggest, strongest, and longest-tongued. Together comprising a guessing game for readers, each short, rhyming verse is accompanied by a teaser illustrating part of the animal's body. A page turn reveals each animal in its habitat along with its distinguishing "best" and a concise paragraph packed with well-chosen facts. After introducing three of the fastest animals--the cheetah, pronghorn, and peregrine falcon--Ashman spotlights the three-toed sloth in a witty poem called "Slowpoke." "Although I know / I'm very slow / (the pokiest around), / I take first prize, / Endurance-wise, / For time spent upside down." This tree-dwelling "SLOWEST Mammal" moves so little that greenish algae grow on its fur, helping to camouflage it from predators. Birds, fish, land and marine mammals, and reptiles are covered, and among renowned greats like the giraffe ("TALLEST animal") and blue whale ("BIGGEST Animal Ever"), Ashman includes several fascinating, lesser-known species. Casting the white-spotted puffer fish as "BEST Undersea Artist," she highlights the males' extraordinary sand-sculpting. Their "amazing circular designs of hills and valleys more than 20 times their body size" are designed to attract a female, who lays her eggs at the center. Varma's appealing, digitally composed pictures simplify the animals' salient features within a naturalistic palette of green, blue, and ocher. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A brimming compendium that inventively mixes facts, poetry, and humor. (information on protecting endangered animals, measurements, and mask poems; websites; recommended reading; glossary) (Informational picture book/poetry. 6-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.