To finish our week on body structure and function, we have a new picture book:Â What Do They Do With All That Poo? by Jane Kurtz and illustrated by Allison Black. Check out the book giveaway below the review.
From around the time they start potty training, children become fascinated with bodily functions. They also often go through a bathroom humor phase. This new picture book (publishing next week) discusses animal “poo” with just the right mix of serious and fun that it is sure to engage readers of this age.
For the text, Jane Kurtz uses a two level approach. Across the top of the pages is a bouncy rhyme, which is fantastic for educators who want to read the book aloud to young children. Across the bottom of the pages are denser sentences geared for older readers who want to find out more information.
Using twelve animal examples, — from bats to rhinos – Kurtz explains how the variation in their poo results from differences in the animals’ nutrition and digestion. For example, panda poo is mostly undigested bamboo, so it is green and not smelly at all. On the other hand, penguin poo is fishy.
Insect poo is called “frass.”
The author also includes information about how zoos handle the disposal of animal wastes, including composting. There’s even a surprise or two at the end.
Allison Black’s illustrations are cheerful and inventive. She says her dad was a veterinarian and he used to store poo samples in the fridge, so she could call on her experiences for the book.
What Do They Do With All That Poo? is a perfect book to accompany a trip to the zoo, farm, or wildlife habitat. Check out a copy today!
Age Range: 3 – 8 years
Publisher: Beach Lane Books (June 19, 2018)
ISBN-10: 1481479865
ISBN-13: 978-1481479868
More Stuff:
For a discussion of the digestive process in humans, see yesterday’s post
Check out the square (actually cubic) wombat poo mentioned in the book in this video.
Giveaway!
Want to enter the giveaway for the book? Simply login to the Rafflecopter box below — making sure you leave a valid e-mail address — by 12:00 a.m. EST June 18, 2018. Rafflecopter will randomly pick one lucky winner who will receive a copy of What Do They Do With All That Poo?, courtesy of Beach Lane Books  (U.S. addresses only, please). The giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to our winner!
Please leave a comment if you have any difficulties.
Author information: Jane Kurtz was born in Portland, Oregon (where she now lives), but when she was two years old, her parents decided to move to Ethiopia, where she spent most of her childhood. Jane speaks about being an author at schools and conferences—in all but eleven of the United States, so far, and such places as Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, France, Germany, Romania, Russia, Oman, England, Indonesia, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Japan. She helped start Ethiopia Reads (EthiopiaReads.org), a nonprofit that is planting libraries for children and printing some of the first easy-reader books in local languages in Ethiopia. She is the author of many books for children, including Water Hole Waiting and River Friendly River Wild, winner of the SCBWI Golden Kite award for picture book text. To learn more, visit her website: janekurtz.com.
Twitter: @janekurtz
Disclosure: This book was provided by the publisher’s representative for review purposes. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.
Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.
What’s inside? The first part features basic information about common garden butterflies, their life cycles, and their needs. Range maps are included so you can find out which species of butterflies to expect in your area and what some of their common caterpillar food plants are.
