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How to Talk to a Tiger . . . And Other Animals: How Critters Communicate in the Wild
A quirky compendium of animal chatterboxes
Ever wanted to talk to a tiger? Or chatter with a cheetah? Or yak with a yak? This book brings together a babble of more than 100 beasties and explores the amazing ways they talk to each other. From fish that fart to alligators that dunk to fire worms that flash, you’ll discover that wildlife have the strangest ways of sending a message . . .
Ever wanted to talk to a tiger? Or chatter with a cheetah? Or yak with a yak? This book brings together a babble of more than 100 beasties and explores the amazing ways they talk to each other. From fish that fart to alligators that dunk to fire worms that flash, you’ll discover that wildlife have the strangest ways of sending a message . . .
64 pages, Hardcover
Published April 13, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 28, 2021
A fantastic book that focuses on how animals communicate with each other, whether that be through sound, colour, dance, scent, etc. Lots of detail, fascinating information and cute illustrations allow readers to spend many hours poring over the book.
April 3, 2022
How to Talk to a Tiger is a fairly new informational children's book written by Jason Bittel and illustrated by Kelsey Buzzell. This book covers more than 100 animals and the ways that they communicate with each other. Students who read this book will learn about the various sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touch that animals and insects like birds, dogs, and fish use as signals to communicate with one another. I really enjoyed reading this book, specifically because I didn't feel like I was reading information about these animals from a textbook. I loved the visuals that were used, and I really liked how the information was presented overall. I would highly recommend using this book in the classroom because I think students in any elementary grade level could enjoy this book and benefit from some of the facts and information that is presented.
I think teachers could definitely use this book as a read aloud or as an independent reading for students. If this book were to be used for a read aloud, I think it would be best to read it during science instructional time because it covers a lot of the animals' students may learn about during class. However, when using this book for a read aloud, I think it would be best to read it in pieces because it is lengthy and covers a lot of information. If I were to read this book in my future classroom, I would use this book to help me teach students about the characteristics of animals that make them alike and different from other animals. This book talks about all the different ways animals use their senses to communicate, therefore I think when looking at specific animals like land versus sea animals, this book would be a great resource to use during my instruction. Another way I would use this book in my future classroom is through a class project. I would assign each student a different animal and they would design a poster that displays information about their animal that makes them different from the other animals that their peers will be sharing about. This would give students the opportunity to work independently on a research-based project as well as practice using their presentation skills. Once each student has presented their poster to the class, I would hang up their creations outside of the classroom for the other classes to see. I think this project could be done over the span of a week because students will need time to research their animal in the book and online, create a poster, and present.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and I am highly considering purchasing my own copy to have as a resource in my future classroom. It was fun to read all the strange facts about animals and I learned a lot more than I expected from reading this book! I recommend reading this book with elementary students because I think it is appropriate for a wide variety of grade levels and even students who aren't fluent readers because I think they would still enjoy looking at the different visuals and illustrations.
I think teachers could definitely use this book as a read aloud or as an independent reading for students. If this book were to be used for a read aloud, I think it would be best to read it during science instructional time because it covers a lot of the animals' students may learn about during class. However, when using this book for a read aloud, I think it would be best to read it in pieces because it is lengthy and covers a lot of information. If I were to read this book in my future classroom, I would use this book to help me teach students about the characteristics of animals that make them alike and different from other animals. This book talks about all the different ways animals use their senses to communicate, therefore I think when looking at specific animals like land versus sea animals, this book would be a great resource to use during my instruction. Another way I would use this book in my future classroom is through a class project. I would assign each student a different animal and they would design a poster that displays information about their animal that makes them different from the other animals that their peers will be sharing about. This would give students the opportunity to work independently on a research-based project as well as practice using their presentation skills. Once each student has presented their poster to the class, I would hang up their creations outside of the classroom for the other classes to see. I think this project could be done over the span of a week because students will need time to research their animal in the book and online, create a poster, and present.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and I am highly considering purchasing my own copy to have as a resource in my future classroom. It was fun to read all the strange facts about animals and I learned a lot more than I expected from reading this book! I recommend reading this book with elementary students because I think it is appropriate for a wide variety of grade levels and even students who aren't fluent readers because I think they would still enjoy looking at the different visuals and illustrations.
July 2, 2021
See my full review here: https://www.yabookscentral.com/kidsno...
HOW TO TALK TO A TIGER... AND OTHER ANIMALS is an intriguing non-fiction picture book that teaches about the many different ways that animals communicate. The book covers a variety of animals and different methods of talking, such as the use of colors, bioluminescence, and subsonic sounds. The book groups them into four overall categories of sights, sounds, smells and tastes, and electrosensory and touch. As an adult, I also found myself learning new things about so many different animal species, who all have their special mechanisms of communication.
What I loved: There is so much great information in this book, and there is so much to learn about animal communication. It turns out that there are a lot of things I did not know about how animals can talk to each other, including nonverbal information. This feels quite broad and covers a lot, so it would be a great pick for animal lovers and those who enjoy fun facts.
Each page features a few choice paragraphs about a key animal with similar methods from other animals sharing the page. For instance, on the page where it discusses the toadfish and the Sausalito Hum, it also discusses the lyrebird's ability to mimic, and the large sound that can be made by cicadas using their guts! The text is accompanied by illustrations of the discussed animals with action drawings where relevant.
What left me wanting more: As a small point, the font is very small in places, and I had a lot of difficulty reading it. It may be easier on younger eyes, but some of the paragraphs get shockingly tiny. For sensitive readers, there is a lot of talk about stinky excretions (including the hippo poo splash zone with illustrations) in the smells section as well as a page of animals who are good at playing dead, including making secretions to simulate a dead body.
Final verdict: An educational read full of fun facts, HOW TO TALK TO A TIGER... AND OTHER ANIMALS is an advanced picture book resource for learning how different animals can communicate.
Please note that I received a review copy. All opinions are my own.
HOW TO TALK TO A TIGER... AND OTHER ANIMALS is an intriguing non-fiction picture book that teaches about the many different ways that animals communicate. The book covers a variety of animals and different methods of talking, such as the use of colors, bioluminescence, and subsonic sounds. The book groups them into four overall categories of sights, sounds, smells and tastes, and electrosensory and touch. As an adult, I also found myself learning new things about so many different animal species, who all have their special mechanisms of communication.
What I loved: There is so much great information in this book, and there is so much to learn about animal communication. It turns out that there are a lot of things I did not know about how animals can talk to each other, including nonverbal information. This feels quite broad and covers a lot, so it would be a great pick for animal lovers and those who enjoy fun facts.
Each page features a few choice paragraphs about a key animal with similar methods from other animals sharing the page. For instance, on the page where it discusses the toadfish and the Sausalito Hum, it also discusses the lyrebird's ability to mimic, and the large sound that can be made by cicadas using their guts! The text is accompanied by illustrations of the discussed animals with action drawings where relevant.
What left me wanting more: As a small point, the font is very small in places, and I had a lot of difficulty reading it. It may be easier on younger eyes, but some of the paragraphs get shockingly tiny. For sensitive readers, there is a lot of talk about stinky excretions (including the hippo poo splash zone with illustrations) in the smells section as well as a page of animals who are good at playing dead, including making secretions to simulate a dead body.
Final verdict: An educational read full of fun facts, HOW TO TALK TO A TIGER... AND OTHER ANIMALS is an advanced picture book resource for learning how different animals can communicate.
Please note that I received a review copy. All opinions are my own.
May 2, 2021
While animals don't use words to speak, it's quite clear that they communicate in many different ways, and this book explores just how that works. Divided into four sections according to how the animals make their needs known [Sights, Sounds, Smell and Taste, and Electrosensory and Touch], this entertaining book provides snippets of information about more than 100 different animals. From bees dancing to let the rest of the hive know where flowers can be found to farting herrings to the rafts formed by sea otters holding hands, the book has a little something for everyone. The digital illustrations complement the text so that the information is entertaining as well as insightful. Middle grade readers will enjoy browsing through this volume and impressing others with their knowledge. This is a good addition for a science classroom library since it examines a different aspect of animals than is typically studied. And really, with an engaging title such as this one has, who wouldn't want to talk to a tiger or to their pet cat, for that matter?
June 3, 2021
There seems to be a trend in children's non-fiction to cram as much information as possible into a blurb with the result that font sizes are tiny. As an elementary librarian with ton of emerging readers who love non- fiction this is unhelpful and annoying. The kids have to struggle to read it (and often so do their adults). While the information in this book is interesting, and the illustrations cartoony and relatable, I think it could stand some more editing. I'm saying this in a lot of my reviews because I think it's important. I think emerging readers should enjoy reading, not have to struggle through. In this book, there is a narrative on each page that a teacher could read aloud while skipping the 5-7 blurbs. That is a plus for me.
July 20, 2021
Cheerfully illustrated collection about how critters communicate in their natural habitats. I appreciated that it was broken into sections -- Sights, Sounds, Smell and Taste, Electrosensory and Touch -- with double page spreads grouping similar behaviors within those categories. For example, under 'So, You Want to Talk to a Tiger?' you'll also learn about Great White Shark 'gaping,' silverback gorilla chest beating, the Tickle-Me-Loris's glandular secretions, and more.
Will be a great addition to classrooms.
Will be a great addition to classrooms.
August 17, 2021
An attractively illustrated, entertaining, and interesting look at the many remarkable ways animal communicate organized around the categories of sight, sound, smell and taste, and electrosensory and touch. The design and layout makes it a great book for browsing.
April 17, 2021
Genuinely loved this book and learned so much from it. Awesome illustrations. Could use backwater but then again the book itself is dense.
February 27, 2022
Great information and delightful illustrations, but the font is way too small for this book to be useful in a classroom or school library
September 7, 2022
This book is full of details of how animals communicate and has very good illustrations. There is so much to learn in this book. A great resource for animals.
June 25, 2026
Lots of bite size animal facts great for kids.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews