Different? Same!

by Heather Tekavec, Pippa Curnick (Illustrator)

Overview

This clever picture book introduces the concept of animal characteristics by highlighting how there can be both differences and similarities within a group. For example, the zebra gallops, the bumblebee flies, the lemur leaps and the tiger prowls — “But look closer now ... We all have STRIPES!” And so it goes. Again and again, readers will be surprised to find that a group of four seemingly different animals all have one trait in common — whiskers, horns, shells and the like — for a total of thirteen traits in all. Observant children will notice that one of the animals from each group also appears on the following spread with three new animals that have a different characteristic in common. Finally, all forty of the featured animals are shown together, and readers are asked to search for those with specific characteristics not already covered in the book — for example, those with spots, those who live in the ocean or those with six or more legs. Author Heather Tekavec has discovered a fun and interactive approach to helping young children begin to explore the ways animals are classified. Pippa Curnick's playful and engaging illustrations of the animals in their habitats are all scientifically accurate, keeping the experience both enjoyable and informative. The searching activity also works to enhance visual literacy. With a detailed glossary included, this is an ideal book for introducing early lessons on the characteristics of living things and for starting discussions on the ways all creatures are like and unlike one another.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771385657
Publisher:	Kids Can Press
Publication date:	05/02/2017
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	996,163
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	2 - 6 Years

About the Author

Heather Tekavec first fell in love with children's literature while working as a preschool teacher. Different? Same! is her eleventh published book and her first nonfiction picture book. Heather lives in Cloverdale, British Columbia.

Editorial Reviews

Little ones will have fun examining the brightly colored, cartoonlike artwork, trying to figure out a common ground beyond obvious features such as mouths and eyes.—Kirkus Reviews

... will delight old and young alike ...—Canadian Children's Book News

This engaging, celebratory paean to animal kingdom traits offers little ones a lively introduction to classification ...—Booklist

Ages two to six will love sharing the unique style of this look and find book.—The Calgary Herald

From the Publisher

2017-02-04
Groups of animals demonstrate sameness and difference.Each double-page spread presents four highly diverse, named animals, each with a note about one of its differences from the other three—and finally a sentence describing an important shared characteristic. Generally, the differences are in the same category—such as homes, methods of movement, and sounds. In the first grouping, each animal tells how it moves: the zebra says, "I gallop"; the bee says, "I fly"; the ring-tailed lemur says, "I leap"; the tiger says, "I prowl." The spread concludes: "But look closer now….We all have STRIPES!" The "look closer now" provides a happily consistent mantra for young ears. Little ones will have fun examining the brightly colored, cartoonlike artwork, trying to figure out a common ground beyond obvious features such as mouths and eyes. Two spreads without obvious categories for the differences feel a bit off but can invite further discussion. (Perhaps the sleekness of the dolphin, the colors of the penguin, the many arms of the squid, and the spiky-ness of the puffer fish are all ways of attracting mates? The similarity is that each has flippers or fins.) The book begins with a little rhyme about differences and ends with one about how looking closely helps us realize that "we're not as different as we first appear." This sweet metaphor for human diversity is followed by questions for further examination of the illustrations, as well as more information about the features…featured. Informative fun. (Informational picture book. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews