The Oddball Book of Armadillos
by Elizabeth Shreeve ; illus. by Isabella Grott
40 pages; ages 7-10
Norton Young Readers, 2024
theme: armadillos, evolution, nonfiction
Are they giant roly-poly bugs? Time-traveling dinosaurs? Crazy mixed-up turtle-rabbits? No! They’re armadillos…
… small mammals with tough, scaly armor. Modern armadillos may be as small as 6-inches, but some of their prehistoric ancestors were as big as cars! In this book, Elizabeth Shreeve introduces readers to a variety of armadillos found around the world: pink fairy armadillos, nine-banded armadillos, the screaming hairy armadillo, and more. She discusses armadillo adaptations, behavior, and migration for modern and prehistoric animals.
What I like about this book: As with The Upside-Down Book of Sloths, Elizabeth Shreeve presents information about armadillos in layers. Some pages feature large text with conversational language, while others have smaller text with sidebars providing more details. That makes this book perfect to read as a picture book to younger kids (6-7) and as an informational book for the 7-10 year old crowd. Some of those sidebars highlight cool stuff, like how armadillos walk under water and how artists have been portraying armadillos for the past thousand years or so.
Armadillos are odder than I expected! So I knew I had to ask Elizabeth One Question: What inspired you to write a book about ancient armadillos?
Elizabeth: Great question! Armadillos are related to sloths, a topic that I explored in The Upside-Down Book of Sloths (Norton Young Readers, 2023). My editor was all-in for a companion title about the “little armored ones” and their prehistoric kin. Armadillos, both living and extinct, help us understand the natural history of the Americas, a topic with special meaning for many students. Plus who doesn’t love an oddball? By celebrating life-forms that are less familiar, we can send a message about embracing differences and finding connections. Let’s appreciate all of Earth’s creatures!
Thanks, Elizabeth. And with that, let’s go have some Beyond-the-Books fun!
Learn more about armadillos at the San Diego Zoo website
Armadillos can roll up into a ball. Can you? What other animals roll up in a ball to protect themselves?
For older kids: Check out the Adaptation Game in the teacher’s guide at Elizabeth’s website. It’s a card game developed specifically for the book, and shows how the traits of animal populations help them survive in the environments they live in.
Elizabeth is a member of #STEAMTeam2024. You can find out more about her at her website.
Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copy provided by the publisher.
Love these armoured guys! Thanks for writing about them.
ReplyDeleteI've always been curious about these little armored guys, though I guess they used to be huge. Your question to Elizabeth was great.
ReplyDeleteLovely resources and looks like a fun book. The illustrations are really engaging. I'm sure it will be a hit with kids.
ReplyDeleteGreat interview and these creatures are rarely featured in books. Thanks for including your review on this week's MMGM.
ReplyDeleteA screaming hairy armadillo?? :) They're amazing animals and I'd love to read more about them! Thanks for the recommendation!
ReplyDeleteI know nothing about armadillos, but I would like to. Fortunately, my library has the book on order, and I was able to put it on hold. Can't wait to read it. Thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteLol - "Crazy mixed-up turtle-rabbits?" Too funny! My littlest is right in the age range for this one, so I will definitely check it out. I've seen the sloth book several times but hadn't heard about this one. Thanks for sharing! :)
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