Monday, October 28, 2024

Super Small: Miniature Marvels of the Natural World by Tiffany Stone and Ashley Spires - ADVISABLE


Super Small: Miniature Marvels of the Natural World by Tiffany Stone, illustrated by Ashley Spires. NON-FICTION. Greystone Kids, 2023. $19. 9781771646567

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL – ADVISABLE

APPEAL TO: SEVERAL

Most spreads in this volume contain a poem that introduces a tiny creature and hints at its unique superpower and also a cartoon strip that names and explains that superpower. The illustrator uses the same drawings of each creature, most portrayed with big round eyes, to both accompany the poem and populate the cartoon panels. For example, the smallest mite can lift 1000 times its weight. An axolotl can regrow limbs and the black-footed cat, one of the smallest wild cats, is the best hunter in the cat family. 


I can see this volume being used to practice inference (ask students to identify the creature’s superpower from the poem) or to model how to draw a cartoon about an animal’s unique characteristic. Additionally, I can see these poems and comics being enjoyed by young readers as they learn some very fascinating animal facts.

Reviewer: P.K. Foster, MLS, elementary school teacher-librarian

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