Mixed Media

Who’s Hiding in This Box?
By Giuliano Ferri
Minedition, 2019, $11.99

Summer calls for a game of peek-a-boo! Every double- paged spread of this ingeniously designed board book poses a question as to the inhabitant of a box that changes color and pattern to match the wild creature within. For example, paw tracks leading to an orange box with black stripes hint at a tiger whereas flowers surrounding a honeycomb- patterned box suggest bees. Tots can then lift the flap of the box and – surprise! – it unfolds to reveal the actual animal, whether long- necked giraffe or toothy crocodile. What a lively, informative tale!

Yoga Animals
By Paige Towler
National Geographic Kids, 2020, $16.99

Each double-paged spread includes a playful rhyme, eye-catching photos and easy-to-follow instructions for a yoga posture. For example, one couplet reads “Peaceful pink flamingos stand/balancing in shifting sand.” There is a color photo of a flamingo poised on one leg in its natural habitat, with an accompanying photo of a similarly standing child, in tree pose. The whole family will have a great time shifting, stretching and mimicking the animal kingdom – and building strength, flexibility and greater serenity in the process. Back matter provides kid-friendly information on each creature and on the benefits of and other names for the poses.

125 Animals That Changed the World
By Brenna Maloney
National Geographic Kids, 2019, $12.99

Meet Oscar, a bionic cat, Hector, the French space rat and the canine film star Rin Tin Tin. Brenna Maloney has penned short, fascinating biographies of these and other amazing animals from the near and distant past. Each description is paired with a dynamic photo or period illustration. One of my favorites, a tiny mare named Minnie, was injured during World War II. So stalwart and beloved was she that soldiers arranged her airlift from the Burmese jungle to India, where she was nursed back to health. This is a riveting look at how our furred and feathered friends have shaped history.

Call Me Floy
By Joanna Cooke
Yosemite Conservancy, 2020, $17.99

Florence Hutchings, known as Floy, doesn’t want to stay in her grandmother’s proper boarding house in crowded San Francisco. She yearns to return with her father to the untamed Yosemite – and to act on her secret desire to climb a dangerous mountain. In this compelling historical novel, Joanna Cooke paints a vivid portrait of a spirited girl and a wild landscape already undergoing tourist- related change in 1876. Reading this book is the next best thing to actually visiting this great national park.