Whose Bones Are Those?

by Chihiro Takeuchi, Chihiro Takeuchi (Illustrator)

Overview

Inventive and stylish, informative and whimsical, this conceptual picture book from a noted cut-paper artist invites young readers to “guess the animal” by perusing its bones.

Whose bones? A scattering of tiny bones, spread across a vivid background, seem to offer no clues. But turn the page and the bones have elegantly come together, revealing the form of a snake or a lion, a crocodile or an elephant, a flamingo or even a whale. Every vibrant spread of this fascinating book features the skeleton—and also a stylized representation—of a different animal. Even the youngest of readers are invited to scrutinize the visual clues to figure out whose bones are portrayed in this fascinating introduction to vertebrates.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536221459
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	06/07/2022
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	1,067,791
Product dimensions:	10.19(w) x 8.94(h) x 0.38(d)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Chihiro Takeuchi is a renowned cut-paper artist and the creator of several books, including Paper Peek: Colors, Paper Peek: Animals, and Paper Peek: Alphabet. She lives in Osaka, Japan.

Editorial Reviews

Takeuchi’s colors are bold and bright. . . Children will enjoy using this charming book both as a way to learn about animals and to play the matching and guessing game. A whimsical reminder that all animals—including humans—are just a heap of bones!
—Kirkus Reviews

An unusual and delightful sort of matching game for young readers. . . It’s a visually striking book, in which the page-turns are everything, and an entertaining guessing game for very young children, especially those first learning about the skeletal system and that, underneath all the trappings, many creatures are a heap of bones.
—Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Colorful, bold type; brightly saturated backgrounds; and simple, clean design set the tone for a concept book that doubles as a surprisingly joyous celebration of bones. . . . A strong choice for curious young scientists.
—The Horn Book

This stunning execution of a simple idea by cut-paper artist Chihiro Takeuchi makes the subject — bones — feel wondrous rather than gory. . . . The cheerful illustrations invite young readers to consider what’s under the skin of all sorts of vertebrates, and ends with a collection of fun facts for the curious.
—The Virginian Pilot

A sweet and informative picture book for young animal lovers to learn more about the different body structures of different species.
—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

06/24/2022

PreS-Gr 2—A colorful, interactive book for young children that may serve as a classroom read-aloud. The repeated question of "Whose bones?" is posed along with an illustration of bones, the skeleton of an animal, and finally the animal the skeleton belongs to. Children may ask the question out loud collectively, see the illustration of the randomly assorted bones, and guess which animal they make up. There is also a color scheme that follows a pattern, which may be another mystery for children to uncover. For example, the illustration of the elephant's bones is on a gray page while the flamingo's bones are on a pink page. A strong feature of this book is the fun facts included at the end. There is one fun fact for each animal presented, which may serve as a learning opportunity for both children and adults. VERDICT A sweet and informative picture book for young animal lovers to learn more about the different body structures of different species.—Paige Pagan

School Library Journal

2022-04-27
Can you match the skeletons with their animals?

After being presented with a group of bones splayed across the page, readers are asked to guess what kind of animal they belong to. The next page depicts the bones put together in a skeleton as a hint; finally, the answer is revealed. Some animals are relatively easy, like the flamingo, but some are more difficult, like the lion. All animals featured in this book are vertebrates, though not all are mammals—a turtle, a whale, a giraffe, a snake, a crocodile, an elephant, a bat, a penguin, a reindeer, and a rhinoceros round out the cast. Humans are not included in the installments, but human skeletons are featured on the front endpapers, while a diverse group of human children can be found in the back endpapers along with two robots. Takeuchi’s colors are bold and bright, yet the backgrounds are plain—the animals’ natural habitats are not included. Children will enjoy using this charming book both as a way to learn about animals and to play the matching and guessing game. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A whimsical reminder that all animals—including humans—are just a heap of bones! (fun facts) (Informational picture book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews