Eszterhas

This is the third book I read with my grandchildren in the Baby Animals series. It shows thirteen different animals, usually with their parents, describing what they eat. The animals vary in geography as well as some being well-known and others not being as familiar. The illustrations are beautiful photographs taken by Suzi Eszterhas, who is a wildlife photographer and animal activist. All the photos in this book are of baby animals and their families in the wild. The text that is included are short anecdotes describing what is happening in the pictures as well as identifying the animals. This is a great read aloud story for young children. A great non-fiction book to add to school and family libraries. A good book for any animal lovers. The publisher, Owlkids Books, generously provided me with a copy of this book to read. The opinions are my own.… (mehr)

I have shared a number of Suzi Eszterhas’s marvellous nonfiction books on animals with young children (aged 4 to 8). The response has always been enthusiastic. Eszterhas is a superb wildlife photographer, and she often gets some remarkable shots. Each double-page spread in this book features a young animal with its parent, and sometimes with its siblings, too. We see monkeys, chimpanzees, and warthogs nursing; birds, such as egrets and penguins, feeding their young by regurgitating fish (and frogs, as well—in the case of the egrets); and jackal pups licking their father’s mouth to stimulate his regurgitation of meat. Eszterhas always keeps the mess and more disturbing details out of the sight of her young audience. Her readers are told, for example, that young cheetahs like to eat the gazelle their mother has hunted, but nothing resembling a gazelle appears in the photo of the wild cats feeding. (I had to look closely at the picture Eszterhas did include to make sense of it. In this case, in being too careful not to cause upset, she provided a picture that was not particularly useful or informative.)

Eszterhas has included representative animals from all continents, and in the two to three sentences of text on each page, she manages to communicate some basic details about each animal’s diet—and sometimes the training it will need to be able to catch its own dinner. Most of the baby animals Eszterhas shows in her book will be familiar to young children. However, I was pleased to see some animals that appear less frequently in children’s books of this kind: jackals, egrets, sloths, warthogs, and capybaras.

I’m not sure that this is Eszterhas’s best work, but it is a nice introductory book for young children that could encourage them to make some simple comparisons. I’d recommend it for purchase by school and public libraries. Those interested in Eszterhas’s wonderful photography might enjoy following this link:

https://www.suzieszterhas.com/index

Thanks to Net Galley and Owlkids Books in Toronto for providing me with a digital copy of this book for review purposes.… (mehr)

Eszterhas’ Baby Animals Eating is just full of the cutest critters you ever did see! Written in simple language for early readers, kids are treated to a variety of little ones of the animal kingdom eating their suppers. From leaf eating koalas, to egg munching raccoon kits, all kinds of animals are looked at, with very different feeding habits. My cubs and I quite enjoyed this book. Perfect for any toddler/preschoolers’ shelves.

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Owlkids Books for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.… (mehr)