Just One Bite
PreS-Gr 1–Large, stylized illustrations present a variety of animals and what they can ingest in “just one bite.” From a minuscule dot of decaying vegetable matter scooped up by an earthworm to the wriggly mass of a giant squid gripped in the jaw of a toothy sperm whale (quadruple gatefolds for this one), the book helps children to envision the eating habits of critters seen mostly on TV. The brief text repeats the octopus's request for “only the tender parts, please” as he scarfs down a crunchy crab, and a Komodo dragon remarking on the “tasty treat” of a snake-snack. Mouths and mouth parts are shown life-size, leaving (in most cases) the greater part of the head and generally the body out of the strongly delineated illustrations. This is problematic in the case of those species with which youngsters are not familiar. Notes at the back of the book proffer paragraphs about the featured creatures, so parents/teachers will have further fodder for curious young minds. Not in the realistic school of Teruyuki Komiya's photographic More Life-Size Zoo or his Life-Size Aquarium (both Seven Footer Kids, 2010), but attractive, colorful, and impressively big.–Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NYα(c) Copyright 2010.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.