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Review - Animal Tongues - Dawn Cusick

Bits of animals seem to be something of speciality for Dawn Cusick, who also wrote Bug Butts. She has a slightly more uphill struggle with tongues, which don't have that immediate 'yeucch!' kid appeal of bottoms and poo, but still manages to entertain and inform in equal measure.

The book is illustrated with photographs, mostly very effective - don't be put off with the cover, which for some reason looks rather old fashioned - the layout inside is bright and lively, with a number of photographs, meandering text and little side boxes along the lines of 'Test it out' or 'Guess what?'.

When it comes to content, the range of use of tongues, particularly interestingly long or sticky ones, was enough to keep young readers interested. I wish there was an illustration of a glow-in-the-dark fung-tongue, but the description alone is enough to have a lot of fun with. It's no surprise that giraffes and chameleons feature large, but some of the other tongues will probably take you by surprise.

As with But Butts, this isn't material that is central to any science curriculum, but for a combination of entertainment and the joy of learning about science it has a lot going for it.

Only in hardback

Reviewed by Jo Reed

* Our age range recommendation is an estimated guide, but individual readers outside the range could still enjoy the book!

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