Sisters & Brothers: Sibling Relationships in the Animal World

by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

Artitst Steve Jenkins and author Robin Page use sibling relationships as a premise... read more

Artitst Steve Jenkins and author Robin Page use sibling relationships as a premise to offer information on more than twenty creatures from the animal, bird, and insect worlds. The facts shared in the short narratives are fascinating. An entire litter of one of the world’s smallest mammals, the European shrew, can fit comfortably in a teaspoon—that’s up to ten babies that will travel together as a caravan, biting the behind of the one in front to stay together. Spotted hyenas’ sibling fights are often to the death, while the strongest black widow spider hatchlings eat their weaker brothers and sisters. Each page spread blends intriguing bits of information with Jenkins’s trademark illustrations—beautiful cut-and-torn-paper collage art depicting the creatures in action. There’s also humor in brief, witty tag lines such as “Girls rule!” on the page with the all-female New Mexico whiptail lizards and “Mommy’s busy right now” accompanying information about the millions of termite brothers and sisters who live in a colony, all from the eggs of a single queen. As with this author/illustrator duo’s other books, additional facts about each creature are included at the volume’s end. (Ages 6–10)

© Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2009

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