Splish! Splash! Animal Baths

Sayre, April Pulley

ISBN 10: 0761318216 ISBN 13: 9780761318217

Publisher: Twenty First Century Books, 2000

Synopsis

Describes the different ways in which animals keep clean, from the elephant who splashes himself with water to the pig that enjoys a messy roll in the mud.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

PreSchool-Grade 1-Sayre describes how a variety of animals such as elephants, birds, horses, and fish bathe or groom themselves. Full-page, colorful photos show them in water, in mud, or even taking dirt baths. The author uses simple sentences, yet slips in vocabulary-building words such as "preen" and "spongelike," and she makes common comparisons between animals such as a lioness licking her fur just as a house cat would do. She also offers brief bits of information to stretch youngsters' knowledge, such as descriptions of oxpeckers that travel on the bodies of giraffes and peck away ticks and "cleaner" shrimp that act as animal dentists. The final two pages suggest ideas for observing bathing animals and making a simple birdbath or wildlife pool. Despite some cuteness ("Without [oil], ducks would get soggy and cold-which wouldn't be ducky at all!"), this book will be useful for the attractive pictures alone.-Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, V.--, ducks would get soggy and cold-which wouldn't be ducky at all!"), this book will be useful for the attractive pictures alone.
Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

This wonderfully entertaining book moves from one crystalline nature shot to another as it highlights some unusual animal grooming techniques. A photo of a giraffe reveals oxpecker birds perched on the tall animal's back, pecking off ticks. A similar relationship takes place underwater, where fish pick algae off a hippo's skin and a cleaner shrimp snatches food from a moray eel's teeth. Chimpanzees are seen sitting in a row extracting bugs and leaves from each other's fur, a horse is photographed scratching its back on the dusty ground, and a pig is shown contentedly sloshing in mud. The lighthearted, informative yet brief text hangs under a cloud-and-raindrop motif on pages colored to complement the engaging photos. Reading about nature doesn't get more fun than this! Ellen Mandel

About this edition

• Publisher: Twenty First Century Books
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0761318216
• ISBN 13: 9780761318217
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 32