Wild Brunch

Young wildlife lovers are invited to explore how and why animals eat what they do in this nonfiction poetry picture book collection for kids.

Explore how narwhals, jellyfish, hippos, piranhas, and many more species of swimming, land-based, and flying animals satisfy their appetites in a collection of culinary poems.

A creative companion to Now You See Them, Now You Don't: Poems About Creatures That Hide and A Place to Start a Family: Poems About Creatures That Build by celebrated author and science expert David L. Harrison and award-winning illustrator, Giles Laroche.By sea, land, and air, wild animals roam our world and eat to sustain themselves in their natural habitats. This book features 13 different creatures and their eating habits in the form of free verse and ABAB poetry. It could be enjoyed by young readers wanting to learn more about the animal kingdom in a digestible picture book format, or by older readers who can dive into the poetic way this information is presented. Beautiful spreads with large and colorful depictions of each animal, from turkey vultures to aardvarks, make this a very visually entertaining read as well. The book is broken up by “Swimming Eaters,” “Land-Based Eaters,” and “Flying Eaters,” as well as one feature on a “Not An Eater At All.” Back matter includes more detailed profiles on each animal and further reading lists. VERDICT An excellent purchase for elementary nonfiction collections where animal facts and poetry can enhance readers’ experiences when they’re engaged with both.
—School Library JournalDavid L. Harrison is serving as poet laureate of Missouri. He has published more than eighty books, has been a keynote speaker or presenter at 265 state, regional, and national conferences in thirty states and has an elementary school named after him. David's first book for children, The Boy with a Drum, was released in 1969 and has sold two million copies.

Giles Laroche has illustrated many children's books and both wrote and illustrated If You Lived Here: Houses of the World (Houghton Mifflin). Every illustration he makes involves drawing, cutting, painting, and gluing--and often has seven or eight layers. www.gileslaroche.com