Can An Aardvark BARK?
by Melissa Stewart, Illustrated by Steve Jenkins
Beach Lane (June 13, 2017)
Nonfiction * Animals * Animal Communication
Audience: Ages 4 to 8
IndieBound | WorldCat
Description from GoodReads:
From award-winning author Melissa Stewart and Caldecott honoree Steve Jenkins comes a noisy nonfiction exploration of the many sounds animals make.
Can an aardvark bark? No, but it can grunt. Lots of other animals grunt too…
Barks, grunts, squeals—animals make all kinds of sounds to communicate and express themselves. With a growling salamander and a whining porcupine, bellowing giraffes and laughing gorillas, this boisterous book is chock-full of fun and interesting facts and is sure to be a favorite of even the youngest animal enthusiasts.
Official Book Trailer:
Quick thoughts on the book:
I have been waiting to get my hands on this book for what seems like forever. Thank you to Melissa Stewart, I have had opportunities to hear about the book and get some sneak peeks. Back in November, I had the honor to do the cover reveal for Stewart's new book CAN AN AARDVARK BARK? And now it is real. I am sitting here with a copy in my hands.
CAN AN AARDVARK BARK? is the perfect combination of what Melissa Stewart and Steve Jenkins do best, write and illustrate books that children want to read over and over again.
One of the things that I love in this book is the two levels of text. A read aloud can focus on the repeating question and answer pattern that carries through out the book. (see example below)
Through this format, readers learn about the varying ways animals communicate. However, readers can take it one step deeper with facts explaining how individual animals squeal, roar, or bark.
Accompanying the text are quintessential Jenkins' illustrations of animals on a clean white canvas.
Though the school year may be out for me, I am looking forward to sharing this book with teachers and students in the fall and in creating learning opportunities to go with the book.
Stewart and Jenkins have hit it out of the park with this latest book. If you don't have it on your radar, mark your calendar now for the release of CAN AN AARDVARK BARK? on Tuesday, June 13th.
Artwork by Sarah S. Brannen @2017
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