Did you know that animals tongues perform a wide array of uses? I knew a few of them, but in the new book, Terrific Tongues! by Maria Gianferrari, we get to learn a wide array of how animals use their tongues.
* Thank you to the Kid Lit Exchange for a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
A straw. A nose. A mop. A sword. A washcloth. These are all uses of animal tongues. The fun part is guessing what animal belongs to each tongue and then how they really use it. On the page that gives you the answer, there is also a paragraph of factual information. So while a moth uses its tongue like a straw to suck nectar from flowers, learning (and seeing) how it works is fascinating.
The visuals are what really set this apart and makes it a laugh out loud kind of book. The poor monkey that you meet at the start of the book gets to have his tongue turned into all sorts of different things. Seeing his tongue turn into a nose is spot on as is the happiness when his tongue turns into a washcloth to get the excess cake off of his face. Illustrator Jia Liu took Gianferrari’s words and made them come to life, something that can be challenging with a book of facts.
Terrific Tongues is a book I could see children turning to over and over, if not for information, then to just get a good laugh.
Each Wednesday I try to post nonfiction picture books as part of the challenge set up by Kid Lit Frenzy. There are amazing books available for kids these days. Check the linkups on Alyson’s site for more!