CM Magazine: Animal Defenses: How Animals Protect Themselves.

________________ CM . . . . Volume VII Number 4 . . . . October 20, 2000

Animal Defenses: How Animals Protect Themselves.

Etta Kaner. Illustrated by Pat Stephens.
Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 1999.
40 pp., pbk. & cl., $6.95 (pbk.), $14.95(cl.).
ISBN 1-55074-421-6 (pbk.), ISBN 1-55074-419-4 (cl.).

Grades 2 - 7 / Ages 7 - 12.

Subject Headings: Animal defenses - Juvenile literature; Animal weapons - Juvenile literature.

Review by Luella Sumner.

**** /4

excerpt:

What do you do when you are afraid? Do you yell for help? Do you hide? Do you run away? Some animals do these things too when they are afraid. But many animals defend themselves in more unusual ways. Some animals change color to make it hard for a predator, or enemy, to see them in their environment. An octopus can do this in seconds. Other animals pretend to be something they're not. An inchworm holds itself stiff to look like a stick. Some animals even have partnerships with other animals. Buffalo depend on birds to warn them of danger. And some crabs use an animal called an anemone like a sword. These are just a few of the strange ways in which animals defend themselves. Read on to find out more about the amazing world of animal defense.

The above excerpt, the "introduction" to this interesting book, gives one a very good idea of what to expect. Animal Defenses is broken into chapters with such headings as: "Copycats," "Warning - stay away," and "Playing tricks." All manner of creatures - animals, birds, fish, insects - are described with their strange and unusual methods of defense against enemies. The illustrations are excellent, large and colorful. There is an index, and personnel at the Toronto Zoo are cited as consultants.

Highly Recommended.

Luella Sumner is the librarian at Red Rock Public Library in Red Rock, ON.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - October 20, 2000.