What Do You Do When Something Wants To Eat You? by Steve Jenkins

Bibliography:

Jenkins, Steve. What Do You Do When Something Wants To Eat You? Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0395825148



Plot Summary:

Steve Jenkins' What Do You Do When Something Wants To Eat You? is enjoyable. This books teaches readers how wild animals defend themselves from their enemies. Jenkins uses cut paper collages to capture his images of silkmothes, pangolin, glass snake and more. On one page the reader views predator and prey. But once reader turns the page s/he views what the prey's defenses are and how they use them to defend themselves. This book is kid friendly because you do not see any of the animals being eaten, only escaping from it predator, for example on the first page of the story you see an octopus and a very large fish, much larger than octopus. The books does not tell what type of predator it is just gives a picture of predator and tells how prey defends itself and shows prey escaping.



Critical Analysis:

Jenkins' book What Do You Do When Something Wants To Eat You? is kid friendly. None of the animals are eaten by their predator. It's written for pre-school to early elementary but could be used by older students as a source for researching what mechanisms different animals use to escape their predators. Jenkins uses simple illustrates of cut collages of solid colors that mainly focused on the animals. The accuracy of Jenkins' information is true. If you search each animal using Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia or website for animal defense mechanism: http://www.essortment.com/all/animaldefense_rbbc.htm you will find Jenkins' information to be correct. Jenkins does not offer any foot-notes or bibliographies to support his findings. Jenkins' organization of this book is to be read cover to cover because you see the animal and predator on one page and on the next the animal's defense mechanism. If you skip a page you will see different animal and predator and miss defense mechanism of that animal. He does provide a pattern of animal and predator on one page and animal using defense mechanism on the next page. Jenkins' book does not offer any subheadings or a table of contents. This book is truly designed for very young readers. Yes, children will look at the cover and want to open it. It is very attractive with it's cut collage illustrations, inviting and readable for very young readers. Jenkins' style is enthusiastic, giving off a level of excitement as you see that the animal has used special defense mechanism to escape its predator. For example it is exciting to see the flying fish flying above the water away from its predator. Jenkins does a wonderful job of capturing the attention of his audience. His book is bright, interesting and lively.

Review Excerpt(s):

From School Library

Journal Grade 3-5. Jenkins answers the question of what different creatures do when another wants them for dinner. He identifies the animal on one page ("the bombardier beetle defends itself...") and then follows up with its defense mechanism on the next ("by shooting a mixture of hot chemicals from its rear end and into the face of an attacker"). The artist's trademark cut-paper collages on textured backgrounds show both attacker and potential prey on one page, and then a close-up of the animal escaping on the next. Defenses include mimicry, camouflage, and speed as well as specific responses such as the ink that octopuses use or the puffer fish's ability to expand itself. The final page invites readers to imagine, "What would you do if something wanted to eat you?" Useful for teachers introducing animal defenses and the terms that go along with the subject and a great choice for a storytime.?Sally Bates Goodroe, Houston Public Library Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.



From Kirkus Reviews

The art of camouflage works on several levels here: Jenkins (Big and Little, 1996, etc.) cleverly conceals a factual compendium of 14 animal and insect defenses as a colorful picture book. Predators are depicted in pursuit of prey on each right-hand side of the spread; a flip of the page uncovers the clever escape mechanism employed by the would-be victim, from the bombardier beetle that can spray hot chemicals up to 500 times a second, to the glass snake that conveniently segments its tail. Whether curling up into an armor-plated ball, squirting clouds of ink, or imitating a leaf, the tricksters are described in a couple of sentences that invite further investigations of these survival techniques. Layered cut-paper collage animals are positioned in dramatic stances against textured handmade-paper backgrounds. In a few instances, the black typeface is difficult to discern when it is superimposed on the dark green of leaf or grass. One final question, ``What would you do if something wanted to eat you?'' takes readers into their own cat-and-mouse scenarios. A dashing look at natural escape routes. (Picture book/nonfiction. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.



Connections:

This book can be used as a good source for science for early elementary. Students could use it when studying how animals protect themselves from their prey; older students could extend or add to the book by searching the web for other animals that are not listed in book and tell how they defend themselves from their prey. They could even list the predator of these animals by name since Jenkins does not give names of the predators.

Teacher could also use this book for making predictions. While teacher reads the book, students could guess what mechanisms the animals use to defend them self from their prey. Before teacher turns to the page where it shows how animals defends themselves, student could collaborate as a group how it protects themselves from predator or use T-chart; one side for prediction and other side for what they learned.