What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?

Title: What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
Author/Illustrator: Steve Jenkins & Robin Page
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company in 2003
Genre: Informational
K-3
Caldecott Honor Book

The book What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? is book that teaches children about different body parts and animals. The author takes you on a ride by exploring six different body parts. With each body part the author relates a couple of animals that use that specific body part in a unique way. The book was not only entertaining but very informational and factual.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I didn't know what to expect by the title but I was so surprised to find that as I read I was learning things about animals that I had never known before. My two favorite facts were that crickets ears are on their knees and that horned lizards squirt blood out their eyes. I mean how fun is it to learn those things. Something that I really like was the fact the author didn't just pick out five or six and animals and use them to describe each body part. Instead the author picked out the most unique animals to describe a certain part that they use and didn't decide to use them over and over again. Children really have an opportunity to learn about a vast variety of animals just from this short but sweet picture book. The illustrations in the book were amazing. I can't believe how real some of the animals look. I think it is a nice touch, that way children and I don't get a false idea of what a certain animal looks like. The book had so many great qualities that I had to read it twice.

I honestly feel that so many different teaching ideas can come from this book. It can be used with younger kids to help them start exploring their body parts. Not only do they get to explore their eyes, nose, ears and so forth but as a teacher we can take the time to talk with our students about what is unique about their different body parts. What makes these things so special and I feel like the book provides a great opener for that. I also think that this book can be used with older children 2nd and 3rd to start exploring the wonderful world of animals. At that age they are past this is a dog and it barks, this is a cat and it says meow. In 2nd and 3rd grade children really want to learn about how fascinating animals are and I feel like this book would be a great start to that exploration. It has animals that they have heard of before but a wide array of animals that will be new to them. As a teacher I would use this book in my classroom for many things, maybe even have each student choose an animal out of the book and do a project about it. This would allow them to learn not only one fact but a whole body of knowledge about their animal and their classmate’s animal. I hope that you to will use this book in your classroom.