This review will give you two science books for the humorous side of your reader interested in nontraditional facts about animals. However, I focus more on the first as it was my favoirte of the two.
Battle of the Butts: The Science Behind Animal Behinds by Jocelyn Rish and illustrated by David Creighton-Pester is a humorous and educational picture book that gives you the poop on farts, butts and the animals that have them. From killer posteriors to beach building tushes, it is all here. Rish has packed this longer picture book with tons of facts (including a glossary) and lots of laughs.
Learn how some turtle’s breath through their butts, how some animals can have seriously literal killer farts, and others have tushies that help them eat. Not to mention some other critters who like to hide right up in there (sorry, I mentioned it).
The illustrations of Creighton-Pester are goofy (there is an image of the wombats having their cubed shaped poop fall on their heads), but also, they help give you the facts with a touch of flair. They are colorful, but while busy, they are not overly detailed. This is since the pages are heavy with text. Yet, still allowing the pages to be concise and not too overwhelming. What you need is what you get.
Even with the longer length and filled pages, most ages can enjoy. However, I would lean towards older children five to eight to be read to and ages 8 and up for solo reading. It would work great in a science class or for your curious child.
Pick the best animal bum or at least your favorite!
A second, slightly younger book is Does It Fart? A Kid’s Guide to the Gas Animals Pass by and Dani Rabaiotti. While I am not keen on Alex G. Griffiths’ simple, cartoon illustrations, this book takes a not-so-
serious subject, Farts, and makes them science based. The facts are on the page, but so are the jokes. You will see some of the animals of Battle of the Butts but a few new ones as well. Do parents, spiders, or The Queen of England fart? Find out in this scent-sational story!